Govt finances worse than expected as tax take falls

Finance Minister Nicola Willis. Photo: RNZ

The government's finances are slightly worse than expected, as the tax take fell more than expenses.

Treasury figures, which exclude ACC finances, showed a deficit of $4.9 billion for the four months ended October - about $700 million higher than forecast in May's Budget.

The deficit including ACC costs was $5.2b, $400m above forecast.

The tax take was down $600m because of lower company and provisional tax receipts.

Expenses were about $200m lower, with costs associated with the scrapped Cook Strait ferries project partly offset by lower spending on several programmes.