Federal surplus falls to $10.2B
OTTAWA–The federal government recorded a $1.2-billion budgetary deficit in March, likely trimming its surplus for the just-completed fiscal year to $10.2 billion.
The Finance Department says the deficit last March was half what the government experienced in March 2007, when it spent $2.4 billion more than it earned.
The department also says preliminary accounting points to a $10.2-billion surplus for the 2007-08 financial year that ended March 31, the exact amount forecast in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's budget in February.
The federal government's revenues were up $1 billion, or 5.2 per cent, in March, largely as a result of higher receipts in taxes from individuals cheap payday loans. Program expenses were flat.