{
  "id": 1808491,
  "title": "Government relies on ‘chainsaw’ to maintain fiscal surplus",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/government-relies-on-chainsaw-to-maintain-fiscal-surplus",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-18T21:47:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Buenos Aires Herald",
    "slug": "buenos-aires-herald",
    "url": "https://buenosairesherald.com/economics/government-relies-on-chainsaw-to-maintain-fiscal-surplus"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Milei administration managed to maintain a fiscal surplus in July 2026, meeting its economic program's goal. The primary fiscal surplus for the first seven months of 2026 was 0.9% of GDP, while the overall budget surplus, including debt interest payments, amounted to 0.1% of GDP. Economy Minister Luis Caputo acknowledged the achievement, crediting nearly 3% of GDP in cumulative tax cuts since the administration's start. The surplus was realized despite July's high debt interest payments and a 30.4% increase in government revenue year-over-year. However, the administration had to cut spending in sensitive sectors, including energy subsidies (20%), transfers to provinces (19%), social welfare (8.1%), and retirement benefits (4.8%). To sustain the surplus, the government relied on extraordinary revenue from privatizations, but excluding these sales, the primary surplus would have dropped by 26.6% this year compared to 2025. The administration faces the challenge of sustaining this result as revenue continues to decline, with a goal of maintaining a 1.4% of GDP primary surplus target for the year, committed to the IMF. One controversial measure employed is the underutilization of funds earmarked for national highway maintenance, sparking criticism about potential misappropriation.",
  "summary": "July cuts were even applied in sectors with mandatory spending, such as the maintenance of national highways La entrada Government relies on ‘chainsaw’ to maintain fiscal surplus se publicó primero en Buenos Aires Herald .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Buenos Aires Herald",
        "title": "Government relies on ‘chainsaw’ to maintain fiscal surplus",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/government-relies-on-chainsaw-to-maintain-fiscal-surplus-1808501",
        "published": "2026-08-18T21:47:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}