Austria Unexpectedly Has First Budget Surplus Since 1974

(Bloomberg) -- Austria had a budget surplus for the first time since 1974 last year as brisk tax revenue growth outpaced expenses. Finance Minister Hartwig Loeger predicted a slight deficit as recently as December, but he ended up with a surplus of 426 million euros ($480 million), or 0.1 percent of gross domestic product. The ministry didn’t provide the result for the structural budget balance -- which tries to adjust for the economic cycle.

To contact the reporter on this story: Boris Groendahl in Vienna at bgroendahl@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Zoe Schneeweiss, Brian Swint

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