The US budget deficit surged to $257 billion in October, nearly quadrupling compared to the previous year, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday, primarily due to one-off factors such as deferred tax payments from natural disasters in California. This significant shortfall at the beginning of the new fiscal year leaves a gaping hole in the national budget, which will become President-elect Donald Trump’s problem in January.
This 287% increase from the $67 billion deficit in October 2022 was compounded by calendar adjustments that nearly halved the deficit. Without these adjustments, the deficit would have been approximately $47 billion, a 22% rise from the prior year.
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Federal receipts fell by 19% to $327 billion, while outlays increased by 24%, totaling $584 billion.
The Biden administration recorded a full-year fiscal 2024 deficit of $1.83 trillion, the largest outside the COVID-19 era, as expenditures on Social Security and Medicare rose. However, a decrease in public debt service costs provided a small positive note amidst the overall fiscal challenges.
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