Financial Statements Of The Government For The Eleven Months Ended 31 May 2003

The Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the eleven months ended 31 May 2003 were released by the Treasury today.

These financial statements are compared against forecast tracks based on the 2003 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (2003 BEFU).

The operating balance for the eleven months ended 31 May was $759 million higher than forecast. This was due to:

• Tax revenue being $382 million higher than forecast;

• Investment revenues being $330 million higher than forecast; and

• Levies, fees, fines and penalties being $150 million higher than forecast.

These were partially offset by core Crown expenses being $201 million higher than forecast, largely due to an increase in the National Provident Fund (NPF) guarantee of $197 million.

The OBERAC for the eleven months ended 31 May was $5,601 million. The difference between OBERAC and the operating balance is the removal from the OBERAC calculation of investment asset movements ($188 million), the movement in the NPF guarantee ($197 million) and the movement in the unfunded liability of GSF ($1,458 million) and ACC ($819 million).

Gross sovereign-issued debt was similar to forecast and is estimated at 28.1% of GDP.

Net (core) Crown debt was $103 million lower-than-forecast. This was largely due to delays in capital projects, which are expected to remain until year-end. Net core Crown debt was estimated at 14% of GDP at 31 May, compared to forecast of 14.1%.

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