Canada Jan budget surplus little changed from year ago

OTTAWA,(Reuters) - The Canadian government posted a budgetary surplus of C$2.21 billion ($1.77 billion) in January, helped by higher personal income tax revenues, the finance department said on Friday.

The January surplus was little changed from the C$2.22 billion seen in January 2014. Revenue rose 1.5 percent to C$25.42 billion, lifted by a 7.3 percent increase in personal income tax revenue.

For April to January, the surplus rose to C$1.31 billion compared to a deficit of C$9.97 billion in the same timeframe the year before.

The government has said it is on track to balance the budget in the 2015-16 fiscal year. The ruling Conservative party is expected to table the budget in April or May after delaying its release earlier in the year.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr, editing by David Ljunggren)