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Government accounts for the four months to October show a larger deficit than originally forecast, driven mainly by weaker tax revenue. The Treasury reported a deficit of $4.9 billion, around $700 million worse than projected in the May Budget.
When including ACC costs, the deficit reached $5.2 billion, exceeding expectations by $400 million.
The shortfall was largely due to tax revenue coming in $600 million lower than forecast, mainly because of reduced company and provisional tax payments. Government expenses were about $200 million below forecast, with savings from the cancelled Cook Strait ferries project partly offset by reduced spending across several programmes.