Pre-Budget Exchequer Figures – €22bn Exchequer Deficit

The figures are out the deficit is €22bn going into December 9th budget. The figures suggests a levelling out of the deficit at the €22bn mark in advance of the budget but tax figures are a major hammering.

Tax figures are €8bn behind where they were this time last year a drop of almost 20% on 2008. This background to deals being done in government buildings tonight gives each side the claim to support of their arguments (the need for cuts / the need for stimulus).

As noted last month the budget target for 2009 was a tax income of €34.75bn. The money missing could be as much as €3bn on budget day.

According to the analysis of tax receipts (PDF) we are already 4% off the target from April’s budget (€1.3 bn off).

Interestingly on the expenditure side the leak yesterday suggesting over €1bn in savings from department expenditure (over cuts to public pay and welfare) is interesting viewed against the expenditure section of the report:

There is a bit of a doozy buried in the annex of non-voted expenditure:

We could really use that €4bn given to Anglo right about now.