Government revenues exceeded expenditures by 238.1 billion yen in fiscal 2000, mainly due to increased revenues in corporate taxes, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.
Unused budget appropriations totaled 696 billion yen in the year to March 31, the ministry said.
The surplus will be used for debt servicing and other purposes.
Tax revenues in fiscal 2000 increased 7.4 percent from the year before to 50.71 trillion yen, topping the 50 trillion yen line for the first time in three years, the ministry said.
Revenues topped the 49.9 trillion yen target, avoiding a shortfall for the second consecutive year, the ministry said. The target takes into account a supplementary budget compiled during the fiscal year.
The increase was achieved due to higher revenues from corporate income, which stemmed from improved corporate earnings and taxes on individuals' income from interest following the maturity of a large number of postal savings accounts, ministry officials said.
Revenues from corporate tax totaled 11.75 trillion yen, exceeding the government's target by 931.2 billion yen. Revenues from overall personal income tax reached 18.79 trillion yen, falling 258.1 billion yen short of the target.