Budget

1. Any plan expressed in monetary terms.

2. The level of taxation minus government spending. A budget surplus is where taxation exceeds government spending. A budget deficit is where government spending exceeds taxation.

3. UK. A formal statement - normally made annually - by the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer setting out the government's taxation proposals for the next fiscal year.

See also

• Finance Act
• Fiscal year
• Zero based budgeting