George Osborne had hoped to reach the milestone two and a bit years earlier in 2015, but Britain is now officially in the black and running a budget surplus for the first full year since 2001. Officially tax revenues cover all day to day spending, though the surplus excludes capital investment by the Government. There is possibly more to cheer later this month as the Office for Budget Responsibility is set to upgrade its growth forecasts, giving the Chancellor a windfall of extra tax revenues. Just to temper the optimism, though, latest forecasts estimate that should Theresa May take Britain out of the EU with no deal in place, GDP could plunge by more than a quarter of a trillion over 15 years. Fingers crossed, with all the uncertainty that lies ahead. In our opinion, the need to diversify your investments has never been greater.
