US budget deficit up 25.1% in first 2 months of budget year

The US government’s deficit in the first two months of the budget year ran 25.1 percent higher than the same period a year ago as spending to deal with the COVID pandemic soared while tax revenues fell. The Treasury Department reported Thursday that with two months gone in the budget year, the deficit totaled USD 429.3 billion, up from USD 343.3 billion in last year’s October-November period.

The deficit the shortfall between what the government collects in taxes and what it spends reflected an 8.9 percent jump in outlays, to USD 886.6 billion, and a 2.9 percent decline in tax revenues, to USD 457.3 billion. Spending for the first two months of the budget year, which begins Oct 1, also set a record, while the deficit over the same period was also a record.