Four year plan to balance the province’s books on schedule

Saying they are on track to meet their targets to balance the books by the year 2013, Finance Minister Graham Steele gave an update to reporters Wednesday on the state of the province’s finances for the current fiscal year.

“To be precise, we are $18.9 million ahead of budget predictions, with the year-end deficit now forecast to be $203.2 million, as opposed to the $222.1 million forecast on Budget Day.”

Steele says the total revenues forcast for government were more than $16 million less than expected primarily because of lower than expected personal income tax and natural gas royalties.  But he says total expenses were $35 million less than budgeted because of lower than expected budget payments.

Nova Scotia’s current debt as of the end of March stood at $13.1 billion. Steele says “interest rates have been lower than longer than we anticipated. And because we borrow so much money both short term and long term, we’ve been able to take advantage of that.” And he says we’re spending more than a billion a year in interest.

There are still uncertainties that weren’t included in the forecast update. Those include the costs of repairs and assistance for the Meat Cove flooding. Heavy rain earlier this summer destroyed the only road into the remote Cape Breton community.

Steele says “it’s not included because the total cost and potential recovery from the federal government, are not yet know, and because it is still unclear how much, if any, of that cost can be absorbed with existing budgets.”