Saturday, May 18, 2013

Tax Time Pushes March Deficit to April Surplus

When the tax man cometh, the government reporteth a surplus. The Treasury Department today announced (link opens in PDF) a national surplus of $113 billion for April, due primarily to individual tax deposits.

For the month, the government took in $407 billion and spent $294 billion.

While not surprising, the surplus number did clock in slightly above analysts' expectations of a $107.5 billion surplus. For fiscal 2013, the current deficit stands at $488 billion.

Source: fms.treas.gov.

Individual income taxes have proved to be the major boon to fiscal 2013's receipts, up 20% from the year-ago period to $795 billion. For the same period, corporate taxes have increased 21% year-over-year to $136 billion.

On the spending side fiscal year to date, gross interest on Treasury debt securities has managed a 5.4% year-over-year drop to $227.9 billion, followed by a 5% drop to $361 billion in Department of Defense military programs outlays. Social Security spending has increased 6% in the fiscal year to date, to $498 billion, while Department of Agriculture spending has ballooned 15% year-over-year to $103 billion.

Looking ahead, the Treasury Department estimates a fiscal 2013 deficit of $973 billion, with a drop to $744 billion for fiscal 2014.

link

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