(CNSNews.com) – The federal government spent $2,573,708,000,000 in the first seven months of fiscal 2019 (October through April), setting an all-time record for real federal spending in the first seven months of a fiscal year, according to data published in the Monthly Treasury Statements.
Prior to this fiscal year, the most that the federal government had ever spent in the first seven months of a fiscal year was in fiscal 2011, when it spent $2,476,257,690,000 in constant April 2019 dollars (adjusted using the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator).
Federal spending in the first seven months of this fiscal year exceeded the previous record by $97,450,310,000.
At the same time that the Treasury was spending the most it has ever spent in the first seven months of a fiscal year, it also ran a deficit of $530,870,000,000.
With April 15 as the deadline for filing tax returns, the month of April is ordinarily a boom time for federal tax collections—and this year was no exception. The Treasury collected $535,545,000,000 in total taxes during the month compared to $228,811,000,000 in March and $167,265,000,000 in February.
But even with the April boost in tax revenue, this fiscal year’s real total tax revenues, real individual income tax revenues, and real corporation income tax revenues have lagged behind last year’s numbers.
In the first seven months of this fiscal year, the Treasury collected $2,042,838,000,000 in total taxes. In the first seven months of last year, it collected $2,047, 528,550,000 (in constant April 2019 dollars).
In the first seven months of this fiscal year, the Treasury collected $1,056,637,000,000 in individual income taxes. In the first seven months of last fiscal year, it collected $1,071,575,620,000 (in constant April 2019 dollars)
In the first seven months of this fiscal year, the Treasury collected $112,676,000,000 in corporation income taxes. In the first seven months of last fiscal year, it collected $123,186,200,000 (in constant April 2019 dollars).
During the first seven months of this fiscal year, while the federal government was setting a record for spending, the Department of Health and Human Services spent $687,794,000,000, which was the most of any federal agency. The Social Security Administration spent $632,776,000,000, which was the second most. The Department of Defense spent $377,464, which was the third most.
(Table 3 from the Montly Treasury Statement, seen below, summarizes federal receipts and outlays for the past month and for the fiscal year to date and compares them to the previous fiscal year.)
Source material can be found at this site.
