Higher tax earnings slash Australian budget deficit

STORY: Higher tax earnings slash Australian budget deficit SHOOTING TIME: File/Dec. 13, 2023 DATELINE: Dec. 15, 2023 LENGTH: 00:00:59 LOCATION: Canberra CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Parliament of Australia 2. various of tax calculating (file) 3. various of Commonwealth Bank 4. various of Australian daily grocery shopping (file) STORYLINE: Surging personal and company tax income has driven a major improvement in Australia's budget position, the government has revealed. Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Finance Katy Gallagher on Wednesday released the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), which is delivered annually in December to update Australians on the state of the government's fiscal performance. The document forecasts that the final federal budget deficit for the current 2023-24 financial year will be 1.1 billion Australian dollars (721.4 million U.S. dollars) - down from the 13.9 billion AUD (9.1 billion USD) forecast in May. Between 2023-24 and 2026-27, budget deficits a