Code for Fiscal Stability (1998)

·     Based on the 5 principles of tax

o      Equitable

o      Economical

o      Efficient

o      Convenient

o      Flexible

Includes:

·     The Golden Rule

o      The government should only borrow to fund new social capital (capital spending, i.e. schools, roads…etc) and not current spending (e.g. welfare benefits)

·     The Sustainable Investment Rule

o      Public sector net debt should not rise above 40% of national income at the end of each financial year of the economic cycle

·     If the government stuck to the two rules, the public sector budget should, in theory, balance out over the course of one economic cycle because the government is not increasing current spending. A deficit is run on capital spending instead, thus balancing it out.

·     Aims

o      To limit how much the government borrows and for what purpose

o      Allow automatic stabilisers (see here) to smooth over the economy

o      Support the role of the monetary policy

o      Avoid an unsustainable increase in public sector debt

o      Ensure that tax revenues that are collected finance public spending as far as possible

·     Australia and New Zealand had a similar code

·     The government complied with the rules from the full economic cycle between 1997-1998 to 2006-2007, just before the recessions/economic crisis.

·     In November 2008, it was written in the pre-budget report that the code had been suspended to allow for the government to act appropriately in response to the global recession.

·     It was replaced by a less restrictive ‘temporary operating rule’ where the target was to manage public finances over the medium term. 

Please note, the Fiscal Policy Framework and the Code for Fiscal Stability should be used in the exam for demonstrating your understanding of past and previous fiscal policy used by governments. As it is no longer in use, be careful when mentioning in the exam.