UK posts highest Aug deficit in 3 years as tax receipts fall

London

BRITAIN posted the highest August budget deficit since 2012 as the tax take from individuals and companies dropped.

Spending exceeded revenue by £12.1 billion (S$26.5 billion) compared with a deficit of £10.7 billion a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in London on Tuesday. Economists in a Bloomberg survey had forecast a £9.2 billion shortfall. Government income fell 0.6 per cent and spending climbed 1.6 per cent.