WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The US government spent $779 billion more than it collected in taxes and fees in the 2018 budget year, as increased tax and fee collections from a booming economy failed to keep pace with rising government spending, the US Department of the Treasury and OMB reported in a joint press release on Monday.
The deficit was the largest since 2012, as the US was emerging from the Great Recession, according to the Treasury Department data.
“This fiscal picture is a blunt warning to Congress of the dire consequences of irresponsible and unnecessary spending,” Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mulvaney said in the release. “The President’s FY [fiscal year] 2019 budget presented a clear roadmap to solving this fiscal nightmare that has been exacerbated by Congress’s continual unwillingness to restrain spending.”
The US government collected $3.329 trillion in fiscal 2018, which ended September 30, compared with $3.315 trillion the previous year, according to the Treasury Department.
Analysts attributed the meager $24 billion revenue increase to Republican-backed package of individual and corporate tax cuts.
During the same period, government spending rose $127 billion to $4.108 trillion, the release explained.
Mulvaney predicted that future economic growth will boost government revenues — an important step toward long-term fiscal sustainability.
Treasury predicted that the 2019 budget deficit would increase to $833 billion in fiscal year 2019.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
