The Costa Rican government closed the first quarter of this year with a budget surplus of $78.75 million, thanks to a 41.2% boost in tax revenues, the Finance Ministry announced yesterday.

“This is good news for the treasury's cooperation with policies to stabilize the country and it indicates that we're spending in an orderly way,” Finance Minister Guillermo Zúñiga told reporters, according to Agence France-Presse.

Government spending reached $1.14 billion from January to March – up 7% from the same period last year.

Sharp increases in tax collection, from income tax to customs revenues, helped achieve the surplus.