We have a spending problem – Feds Collect Record Income Taxes in 2018… Budget deficit highest level in 6 years

Feds Collect Record Individual Income Taxes in FY 2018; Still Run $779B Deficit

(CNSNews.com) – The federal government collected a record $1,683,537,000 in individual income taxes in fiscal 2018 (October 2017 through September 2018), according to the Monthly Treasury Statement released today.

However, the federal government also ran a deficit of $778,996,000,000 during the fiscal year, according to the statement.

(As CNSNews.com has previously reported, the debt of the federal government–as opposed to the deficit–increased by $1,271,158,167,126.72 in fiscal 2018, according to official data published by the Treasury.)

The previous record for individual income tax collections in a fiscal year was in fiscal 2015, when the Treasury collected $1,634,657,240,000 in individual income taxes (in constant September 2018 dollars).

US budget deficit expands to $779 billion in fiscal 2018 as spending surges

• The federal budget deficit rose 17 percent in fiscal 2018, according to the Trump administration.
• Spending jumped, and revenue only increased slightly following the GOP tax cuts.
• The Trump administration has pushed for dramatic budget cuts at several agencies and supported massive increases in military spending.

The U.S. federal budget deficit rose in fiscal 2018 to the highest level in six years as spending climbed, the Trump administration said Monday.

The deficit jumped to $779 billion, $113 billion or 17 percent higher than the previous fiscal period, according to a statement from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney. It was larger than any year since 2012, when it topped $1 trillion. The budget shortfall rose to 3.9 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.

The deficit increased by $70 billion less than anticipated in a report published in July, according to the two officials.

Federal revenue rose only slightly, by $14 billion after Republicans chopped tax rates for corporations and most individuals. Outlays climbed by $127 billion, or 3.2 percent. A spike in defense spending, as well as increases for Medicaid, Social Security and disaster relief, contributed to the increase.