Last week the RBA released the Government's monthly revenue and...

Last week the RBA released the Government's monthly revenue and expenses figures for the month of December 2010.

I have adjusted the figures by the amount of GST the Federal Government collects and hands back to the States. Annual GST receipts are currently running at $50 Billion per annum, a 15% increase from the previous year. In July 2007, the Federal Government increased their receipts by the amount of the GST, and similarly increased their expenditure by the same amount.

Back to the core budget figures, the graph shows that annual receipts are still lower than April 2007. Expenditure is still meeting budgetary expectations, showing a 39% increase since April 2007. Annual receipts in December 2010 is tracking a $26 Billion shortfall from June 2011 Federal Budget, without any apparent trend change towards closing the deficit gap.

The biggest shortfall is in company tax which is tracking at an annual $53 Billion of revenue compared to the expected annual rate in June 2011 of $66 Billion. Individuals' tax is about an annual $8 Billion short.

I will continue to make the same point that these figures have consequences for our economy as the Government faces the political reality that this deficit will need to be addressed. With the figures being current as of December 2010, they do not take into account the impact of the recent costs of the devastating floods. Unfortunately they do take into account the best terms of trade for our exports for a lifetime.

Michael Cornips