Austria reports first budget surplus since 1974

VIENNA: Austria reached a budget surplus last year for the first time since 1974, helped by a sharp increase in tax revenues, the statistics office said on Thursday.

Public finances in Austria showed a surplus of 0.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) or 426 million euros ($478.10 million) in 2018 after a deficit of 0.8 percent or 2.8 billion euros in 2017, Statistics Austria said.

Total government revenue increased by 4.8 percent to 187.6 billion euros in 2018, largely driven by growing wage and corporation taxes, it said.

Government debt decreased by 4.4 percentage points to 73.8 percent of GDP.