Media statement

Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the Three Months ended 30 September 2016

Paul Helm, Chief Government Accountant

The Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the three months ended 30 September 2016 were released by the Treasury today.  The statements are compared against forecasts based on the 2016 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) published on 26 May 2016.

The results for the three months to the end of September show an operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL) surplus of $222 million which was $725 million better than forecast largely due to higher than forecast core Crown tax revenue.

Core Crown tax revenue at $17.3 billion, was $523 million or 3.1% higher than forecast and $1.1 billion higher than for the same period last year.  Higher than expected provisional tax resulted in an increase to corporate tax ($252 million) with residential investment and tourist spending contributing to higher than forecast GST ($134 million).

Core Crown expenses at $18.9 billion, were close to forecast.

When combined with the OBEGAL result, higher than forecast net gains resulted in an operating balance surplus of $2,315 million ($2,202 million larger than forecast) as markets recovered somewhat from a decline in June.

The core Crown residual cash position, at a deficit of $810 million, was $1.4 billion smaller than expected, primarily reflecting higher than expected tax receipts of $1.2 billion.  This lower-than-forecast cash deficit, together with the lower than forecast opening net debt position ($0.4 billion), has flowed through to net debt which was $1.7 billion lower than forecast at $63.1 billion (25.1% of GDP).

At 30 September 2016, total Crown assets were valued at $292.9 billion and liabilities were $195.3 billion while the Crown’s share of net worth stood at $91.6 billion.

$ million Year to date Full Year
September
2016
Actual1
September
2016
BEFU 16
Forecast1
Variance
 to
BEFU 16
$m
Variance
 to
BEFU 16
%
June
2017
BEFU 16
Forecast2
Core Crown          
Core Crown tax revenue 17,338 16,815 523 3.1 71,971
Core Crown revenue 19,013 18,321 692 3.8 78,544
Core Crown expenses 18,918 19,012 94 0.5 77,388
Core Crown residual cash (810) (2,179) 1,369 62.8 (4,162)
Gross debt3 88,416 88,603 187 0.2 93,880
as a percentage of GDP 35.1% 35.2%     36.2%
Net debt4 63,124 64,784 1,660 2.6 66,334
as a percentage of GDP 25.1% 25.7%     25.6%
Total Crown          
Operating balance before gains and losses 222 (503) 725 144.1 719
Operating balance 2,315 113 2,202 - 3,058
Net worth attributable to the Crown 91,600 83,555 8,045 9.6 86,641
  1. Using the most recently published GDP (for the year ended 30 June 2016) of $251,760 million (Source: Statistics New Zealand).
  2. Using forecast GDP for the year ending 30 June 2016 of $259,208 million (Source: Treasury).
  3. Gross sovereign-issued debt excluding settlement cash and Reserve Bank bills.
  4. Net core Crown debt excluding student loans and other advances. Net debt may fluctuate during the year largely reflecting the timing of tax receipts.

ENDS

Officer for Enquiries

Jayne Winfield | Office of the Government Accountant
Tel: +64 4 890 7205
Email: [email protected]