Data - Fiscal Time Series Historical Fiscal Indicators 1972-2012

Page updated 14 Jan 2013

The spreadsheet available here contains historical fiscal data, including debt, fiscal balance, tax and spending since 1972. An explanation of each series can be found in the Series Description sheet.

Summary of Data

Data covers the years 1972 to 2012 and a link to current fiscal forecasts is provided below. We have not attempted to reconcile and backdate for changes in accounting policies and users should be aware of breaks in the data. The data can be used to identify general trends in ‘headline’ fiscal indicators over time.

Breaks in the data result from a change from using March (1 April to 31 March) fiscal years to June (1 July to 30 June) fiscal years, and a change in the accounting framework applied. Data prior to 1994 are prepared on a cash basis; data from 1994 are accrual and are consistent with GAAP. Data generally comply with New Zealand equivalents of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from 1994, however revenue and expense series between 1994 and 1996 have not been backdated and are on an “old-GAAP” basis.

In addition, between 1987 and 1993, expenses are inclusive of GST (introduced in 1986). These payments on government purchases are subsequently reflected in receipt and revenue series. There is only a minor net impact on surplus measures through timing differences from some payments being made and corresponding receipts recorded in different fiscal years.

Some further differences between GAAP and cash reporting frameworks:

• The GAAP series includes expenses for which there are no cash flows in the period, for example depreciation.
• The GAAP series consolidates the Reserve Bank as part of the core-Crown with the impacts of Crown Entities and State Owned Entities recorded in total-Crown series. The cash based series excluded these entities.
• The revenue and expense functional classifications used in the GAAP series are different from those used in the cash series.
• The GAAP series generally reports items on a gross basis whereas the cash series nets some receipts against expenditure. For example, user charges and revenue from goods and services are reported as a separate line item in the GAAP series but are netted off financial net expenditure in the cash series.

Update to Fiscal Time Series after Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) 2012

No new series have been added in this release, but data for the 2012 fiscal year has been added for existing series.

Documents and Data

Fiscal Forecasts

Access current fiscal forecasts covering the years 2012 to 2016 in the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2012 for:

• Core Crown expense forecasts by functional classification;
• Revenue, expense, surplus and debt forecasts.

Related Information

• Statistics New Zealand Long Term Data Series - Part of the long-term data series contains information on Government revenue, spending, assets and liabilities over various periods between 1840 and 2004.
• Institutional Sector Accounts: Government Sector - Data prepared under the New Zealand System of National Accounts (NZSNA) format and covering the years 1999 to 2008. The data consist of the uses and sources of disposable income, capital accumulation and production accounts of the general, central and local government sectors.
• New Zealand Public Debt Data - The New Zealand Debt Management Office publishes historical records of KiwiBond interest rates, and Treasury Bill and Government Bond tender results.