Spurred on by overflowing income tax revenue, the federal government’s budget surplus is now at $5.3–billion for the period between April 1 (the beginning of Ottawa’s fiscal year) and the end of September.
Personal income tax revenues were up 8.9 per cent in September 2006, compared to September 2005, representing an additional $700–million for federal coffers. That said, the government nonetheless, ran a deficit in September of $1.4–billion compared to a surplus of $200–million in the same month last year. The Department of Finance says the deficit in September was largely the result of “a one-time adjustment to reflect an under-accrual of pension costs in prior months.”