A report by the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the U.S. budget deficit totaled $528 billion in the first 11 months of fiscal 2015, down $61 billion compared with the prior-year period’s shortfall.CBO said Tuesday it found tax receipts grew by 8 percent to $2.9 trillion since October 2014, primarily due to increases in individual, payroll and corporate income taxes.
The total amount of government outlays during the past 11 months was $153 billion higher than overall spending recorded in the same period a year ago, the report states.
Federal spending on Medicaid and Medicare programs rose 19 percent and 7 percent, respectively, and CBO attributes the growth to the implementation of some Affordable Care Act provisions.
The report noted the Defense Department shrank its military investments, including overseas contingency operation outlays, by $16 billion through August of the current fiscal year.
CBO also found government expenditures hit $274 billion for the month of August, which is $49 billion less than the figure for the same period last fiscal year.
