This would never happen under Brown

[AtW]

The UK's public accounts were in surplus in January after a strong rise in income tax receipts.

Well, that's to be expected - all high rate taxpayers won't pay up extra tax well before the deadline, this extra tax in one month is probably mainly from bank bonuses paid out in 2009/10.

A non-event macro economics wise.

HTH

[VectraMan]

£2.5K is the deficit, which is the increase in borrowings over the past year.

The deficit is the difference between the amount you collect in taxes and the amount you spend, so is the amount you borrow, not the increase in the amount you borrow (though it is the increase in the total amount borrowed). Which is ~150bn = ~£2.5K per person.

I've just pursuaded HMRC they should have refunded £1K in CT to Plan B Co., so may well have upset the figures. Sorry.

[Doggy Styles]

So we're still borrowing £2.5K for every man woman and child in the UK every year?

No, we are borrowing nearly £15K for every man, woman and child in the UK every year.

And that's only the visible borrowings, there's more debt hidden in PFIs, PPIs, etc.

£2.5K is the deficit, which is the increase in borrowings over the past year.

If it stays as it is, the overall borrowings figure will increase to £17.5K for every man, woman and child in the UK next year.

That's why we need all those cuts as soon as possible, amongst other things. The coallition can get away with it to some extent because the deficit was bequeathed by the previous lot.

[DimPrawn]

So we're still borrowing £2.5K for every man woman and child in the UK every year?

The City will save us.

[TimberWolf]

So we're still borrowing £2.5K for every man woman and child in the UK every year?

[DimPrawn]

BBC News - Public finances see surplus after jump in tax receipts

The UK's public accounts were in surplus in January after a strong rise in income tax receipts.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported the public sector net borrowing measure had a surplus of £3.735bn, higher than expected and the largest surplus since July 2008.

January is traditionally a month in which a surplus is recorded, as a range of income tax bills fall due.

However, a deficit of £1.266bn was recorded in January last year.

Total public borrowing for the year to date now stands at £113bn, £14.1bn lower than at the same point last year.

January's surplus is expected to help the government meet its target for borrowing for the financial year to March 2011 of £148.5bn.