The U.S. government posted a December budget deficit of US$144 billion – a record for the month – due to far higher outlays with coronavirus relief spending and unemployment benefits, while revenues ticked slightly higher, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.
A U.S. five dollar note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration 14 Jan 2021 03:05AM Share this content BookmarkWASHINGTON: The U.S. government posted a December budget deficit of US$144 billion: a record for the month: due to far higher outlays with coronavirus relief spending and unemployment benefits, while revenues ticked slightly higher, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.
The Treasury said the December deficit compares with a US$13 billion deficit in December 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic started in the United States.
Advertisement AdvertisementReceipts for the month rose 3per cent from a year earlier to US$346 billion, while outlays were up 40per cent to US$490 billion.
December individual withheld income tax receipts were flat, while the Treasury registered increases in non-withheld income taxes and year-end corporate tax payments.
The cumulative U.S. deficit for the first three months of fiscal 2021, which started Oct. 1, reached US$573 billion, up from US$357 billion in the pre-pandemic year-earlier period.
Receipts for the …
Summary on US December deficit hits US$144 billion, record for the month provided by on