Increased taxes, lower spend helps swell NZ government coffers

Increased taxes, lower spend helps swell NZ government coffers
Rebecca Howard
By Rebecca Howard May 10 (BusinessDesk) - Increased revenue from taxes and lower expenses boosted the government's operating surplus above its forecasts in the first nine months of the financial year. The operating balance before gains and losses (obegal) was a surplus of $1.5 billion in the nine months ended March 31, well above the $147 million surplus it forecast in December and up from $167 million in the prior year,  the latest Crown accounts show. Tax revenue rose 7.3 percent to $53.9 billion, $527 million ahead of the December h...