23 Jul Australian economic and fiscal update – record budget deficits, but more to come
Key Points:
- The Government expects the federal budget deficit to peak at a record $184.5bn this financial year. That’s around 9.7% of GDP, its highest since the end of WW2.
- Ultimately, we expect it to be around $220bn as the Government unveils more stimulus & revenue recovers more slowly than projected by the Government.
- The budget and associated debt blowout is unlikely to cause a major problem as public debt is relatively low, borrowing costs are very low, the Government is borrowing in $A’s & it’s not dependent on foreign capital. Letting the deficit rise is the right thing to do.