Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned the country is unlikely to see a budget surplus in the next few years despite a recently announced $50 billion (US$32.3 billion) improvement in the government’s bottom line.
In the final budget outcome paper for the 2021-2022 financial year, the federal government posted an underlying deficit of $32 billion.
The deficit was way below the original forecast of $79.8 billion. At the time, it was expected that the government would be in a much worse financial position due to COVID-19 support spending.
Federal Budget Remains Under High Pressure
While the treasurer welcomed the turnaround in the budget bottom line, he said favourable conditions would come to an end….