Ontario’s deficit for fiscal 2012-2013 came in a bit better than expected, the provincial government said today.
The province announced that its deficit for the year is coming in at $9.2 billion, which is $0.6 billion better than predicted in this year’s budget, and is $5.6 billion lower than projected in the 2012 budget. It is still aiming to return to a balanced budget by 2017-2018.
Moreover, the government said that total government spending declined from the previous year, although this was partly due to one-time savings. Total spending for the year was $122.6 billion, which was $3.8 billion less than planned, and 0.1% lower than the previous year.
Revenues came in at $113.4 billion, which is $0.8 billion above forecast, due largely to higher-than-expected income from government business enterprises and tax revenues. However, revenue growth was lower than estimated in the 2013 budget by $0.9 billion due to lower than expected tax revenues.
The government also used a $1.0 billion reserve built into the plan to further reduce the projected deficit.
Finance minister, Charles Sousa, noted that this is the fourth straight year that Ontario has beaten its deficit forecast. “We continue to be focused on balancing the budget by 2017-2018 and continuing to create a positive environment for job creation in the province,” he said.