UK Lowers Borrowing Estimates by £3 Billion After Tax Data Error

Britain’s statistics office said on Wednesday that government borrowing for the previous and current fiscal years was £3 billion ($4.02 billion) lower than earlier reported, following the discovery of an error in value-added tax (VAT) receipt data.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated, “Correcting this error reduces public sector net borrowing by between £200 million and £500 million per month during the affected period, resulting in a £1 billion reduction for the fiscal year ending March 2025, and a £2 billion reduction so far this fiscal year.”

UK borrowing for the 2024/25 financial year stood at just over £146 billion, while total borrowing in the first five months of the current fiscal year was about £84 billion.

Finance Minister Rachel Reeves is expected to announce tax increases in November to help meet her goal of restoring stability to the public finances.

($1 = £0.7468)