LONDON, Feb 21 Reuters Britain39;s government ran an unexpected budget surplus in January, reflecting strong income tax receipts that could give finance minister Jeremy Hunt a little more leeway than he thought as he prepares his annual budget.

The Office for National Statistics ONS on Tuesday reported a seasonal budget surplus of 5.42 billion pounds 6.51 billion in January, a month in which millions of Britons pay their income tax receipts.

A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to public sector net borrowing, excluding stateowned banks, of 7.85 billion pounds for January.

The ONS reported selfassessment income tax receipts of 21.9 billion pounds, the highest January figure since monthly records began and 5.5 billion pounds more than last year.

This suggests that the Chancellor will have some wiggleroom in the budget to fund nearterm tax cuts andor spending rises, said Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at consultancy Capital Economics, of the January surplus.

But she warned that the Office for Budget Responsibility was likely to downgrade its estimates for Britain39;s potential economic growth rate something that would limit the scope for any unexpected giveaways by Hunt on March 15.

The figures, which are not adjusted for inflation, showed the tax receipts were offset by 6.7 billion pounds of interest payable on indexlinked government bonds, the highest January total on record.

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