Government reduces debt with budget surplus
The Swiss government has reported a budget surplus of SFr4.1 billion ($3.7 billion) last year as the strong economy boosted income from taxes.
The finance ministry said on Tuesday that the surplus, which was more than four times larger than originally forecast, was used to cut federal debt to SFr121 billion by the end of 2007.
The ministry added that overall Swiss public debt – including cantons and communes – stood at an estimated SFr216 billion, or around 43 per cent of gross domestic product.
The government expects another surplus of around SFr1.2 billion in its regular budget this year, although this excludes some SFr5 billion of one-time payments for infrastructure and pensions and financial compensation for the cantons.
“It gets more enjoyable every year announcing the federal budget,” said Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz in Bern.
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