Govt books in better shape than pre-election predictions

Govt books in better shape than pre-election predictions
Paul McBeth
The government’s books stayed surprisingly resilient as robust consumer demand propped up GST receipts and lower than expected unemployment supported the income tax take and limited calls on jobless benefits and wage subsidies.Core tax revenue was 10 percent more than the Treasury’s pre-election forecast in September. At $22.05 billion in the three months ended Sept. 30, it was 8.3 percent higher than a year earlier. GST was $1.24 billion more than expected at $6.21 billion, individual tax was $735 million ahead of forecast at $10.7...