LONDON, April 20 (UPI) -- British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown received a pre-election boost Wednesday when his predictions for public borrowing came true.
The Office of National Statistics said public sector net borrowing for 2004-2005 was $66.2 billion, only $192 million more than the chancellor predicted in the 2005 budget and $2.5 billion lower than the previous financial year.
Labor has put its handling of the economy at the center of its election campaign and Brown has made frequent appearances alongside Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Public sector net borrowing was $7.3 billion in March, less than the $9.6 billion expected by analysts
The strong March showing -- in contrast to dismal February data -- followed higher government tax receipts, including income taxes as well as corporation tax and value added tax.
Brown has frequently been criticized for being overly optimistic in his forecasts for tax revenues.
