Treasury reports a $9.4 billion Crown deficit in the 2023 financial year

The New Zealand Government ran an operating deficit of $9.4 billion in the financial year ended June 2023, as corporate tax revenue came in $2.4 billion below forecast. Treasury had predicted a deficit of just under $7 billion but, as previously reported, revenue was 1.6% lower than expected — largely due to lower corporate tax revenue. Total revenue was $153 billion, up $11.4 billion from the prior year, but was $2.5 billion below the forecasts included in Budget 2023. The deficit was added to net debt, which finished the year at $71.4 billion or 18% of gross domestic product, roughly as forecast. Robertson said the government had found $4 billion of savings in response to the weaker tax revenue which ensured the country remained on a “sustainable fiscal path”.