The government is facing mounting pressure from opposition parties as figures released by the Office for National Statistics indicate that falling tax revenues have resulted in the highest June deficit of £13bn. The ONS said that corporation tax revenues dropped by 14.1% in comparison to the same period for last year as scores of companies have been hit by the current financial crisis. The collection of VAT receipts was also down by 15.9% and income tax dropped by 3.9%. Meanwhile, the government has spent 9.7% more on benefits as unemployment rises. The chancellor announced in his Budget that borrowing would reach £175bn but Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat treasury spokesperson, said that figure is an 'understatement' as first quarter borrowing stands at £42.2bn. He said: 'With such a mismatch between government spending and receipts it is clear that in the longer term these levels of borrowing are not sustainable such a commitment to deal with the deficit cannot come from salami slicing key public services, but through an honest debate about what the state can and cannot afford to do.' A Treasury spokesman told the Guardian that the published figures were in line with its forecast and that its plan to halve the deficit within five years is based on 'cautious assumptions about share prices, unemployment and the loss of output from the shock to the economy built into the Budget forecasts'.