Canada Budget Deficit Narrows in July on Tax Receipts

Canada's budget deficit narrowed considerably in July from a year earlier on a healthy increase in income and sales-tax revenue.

Canada posted a July budget deficit of 193 million Canadian dollars ($155 million), compared to a deficit of C$1.76 billion in the same year-ago month, the Finance Department's monthly fiscal monitor publication said Friday.

For the first four months of the 2017-18 fiscal year, Canada ran a C$109 million budget deficit, versus a C$2.76 billion shortfall in the same period from a year earlier.

Earlier this month, Canada's Finance Department said the budget deficit for the previous fiscal year, ended March 31, was C$17.8 billion, or significantly smaller than the original forecast for C$23 billion. The narrower-than-anticipated deficit was due to an improvement in nominal gross domestic product, or the broadest measure of taxable income from which the government derives tax revenue.

In the 2017 budget plan, the Canadian government projects a C$28.5 billion deficit for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018.

Canada's economy has been on a roll in terms of economic growth, although data for July suggest the pace of growth has started to moderate.

In July, Canada said total revenue rose 12.8% in July from a year earlier to C$26.06 billion, on broad-based gains in personal, corporate and sales-tax receipts. Meanwhile, total outlays related to day-to-day operations, and transfers to other levels of government and individuals increased 7% to C$24.31 billion. Expenses related to managing the country's debt fell nearly 10% from a year ago in July, to C$1.94 billion.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com @wsj.com>

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 29, 2017 11:14 ET (15:14 GMT)