Government Incurred Estimated Budget Deficit Of $830 Billion During First Half Of Fiscal Year

The U.S. government incurred an estimated budget deficit of $830 billion during the first half of fiscal year 2011, according to the latest figures released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on April 7. (Monthly Budget Review) This amount is $113 billion above the amount recorded for the same period in FY 2010. Revenue was up 7%. Net corporate income tax receipts in March were higher than expected, totaling $7 billion more than in March 2010. This occurred “despite the retroactive bonus depreciation and full expensing provisions” enacted in late 2010, CBO said. Estate and gift taxes declined by $3 billion due to the temporary expiration of the estate tax in 2010, the report said. Overall, in FY 2011 receipts are up by $66 billion. Individual income tax receipts have grown by $82 billion (or 21%), while social insurance receipts have declined by $10 billion (or -4.7%). The drop in social insurance receipts was attributed to the temporary reduction in payroll taxes that took effect in January. Corporate tax receipts of $54 billion were a carbon copy of FY 2010.

The budget review is available at http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/121xx/doc12126/MBR_April_2011.pdf.