WELLINGTON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government saw an operating surplus for the seven months ending January that was more than double forecasts from the Treasury.
The government had an operating surplus of 1.14 billion NZ dollars (798.11 million U.S. dollars) in the seven months, which compared to a surplus of 442 million NZ dollars (309.44 million U.S. dollars) forecast in December, according to the financial statements from the Treasury on Tuesday.
A higher-than-forecast corporate tax take was the main driver of the variation from the forecast, but government spending was also lower than forecast.
The higher-than-expected company tax revenues reflected the good performance of New Zealand companies in what was still an uncertain world, Finance Minister Steven Joyce said in a statement.
However, several variables made the final result for the full financial year hard to predict, said Joyce.
The biggest variable was the cost of the 7.8-magnitude Kaikoura earthquake, which struck the northeast of the South Island in November last year.
