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Government deficit is 77 percent higher than a year ago

Posted at 3:36 PM, Mar 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-05 15:36:19-05

Revenue has dropped in three of four months of the fiscal year, and spending has been up, the U.S. Treasury Department said today.

That's pushed the federal deficit to be 77 percent higher than a year ago.

The latest report again shows less revenue coming into the U.S. Treasury, caused partially by the GOP tax cut that went into law at the end of 2017. Spending in January was up by $20 billion.

In 2018, the federal deficit was $779 billion. The amount for 2019 is expected to be higher than that — it's projected by the Congressional Budget Office to reach $897 billion.

Individual income taxes are down by $33 billion in the first four months of the fiscal year, and corporate income tax collections have dropped by nearly half.