- Spending and tax revenue both grew, but by equal amounts: about $140 billion. That left spending at $3.6 trillion and revenue at $2.3 trillion.
I'd expect a deficit well in excess of a trillion in fiscal 2012 as well (Oct 2011-Sep 2012).
- The federal government ran an estimated $1.3 trillion budget deficit in fiscal 2011, the same amount as in the previous year, the Congressional Budget Office said Friday.
- In its monthly assessment of the government's finances, the nonpartisan congressional scorekeeper said the $1.3 trillion deficit was equivalent to 8.6% of gross domestic product, down from 8.9% in fiscal 2010 but still the third-highest percentage of GDP recorded since 1945.
- Spending on education, commerce, housing and space programs fell, and spending on defense, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security grew more slowly than usual.
- Not all tax receipt categories grew, however. Nor did all spending categories fall or moderate.
Corporate income tax revenue overall fell about 6% due to stimulus-based tax cuts that let companies accelerate their deductions. Similarly, social insurance tax receipts, which support Social Security and Medicare, fell 5.3% because of the payroll tax cut approved by Congress in December 2010. - The national debt now stands at $14.9 trillion and interest payments on the debt shot up last year to $266 billion.