Macro Roundup of Macroeconomic News - Edward Conard

Monthly Budget Review: August 2023

Written by Edward Conard | Sep 13, 2023 1:03:55 AM

Nathaniel Frentz and Justin LatusCongressional Budget Office


According to @USCBO, the federal budget deficit grew by $600B for the first 11 months of fiscal 2023 vs. fiscal 2022. Revenues were down 10% and outlays were up 3%.


The federal budget deficit was $1.5 trillion in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2023, the Congressional Budget Office estimates—$0.6 trillion more than the shortfall recorded during the same period last year. Revenues were 10% lower and outlays were 3% higher from October through August than they were during the same period in fiscal year 2022. Receipts collected through August 2023, net of refunds, were about $350 billion less than CBO projected, mainly because of smaller-than-anticipated collections of individual and corporate income taxes.  Net outlays for interest on the public debt rose by $149 billion (or 30 percent), mainly because interest rates are significantly higher than they were in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2022.

Related: The 2023 Long-Term Budget Outlook and Interest Costs Will Grow the Fastest Over the Next 30 Years and US Fiscal Alarm Bells Are Drowning Out a Deeper Problem