(Washington) The U.S. government deficit improved slightly in the first nine months of fiscal 2023-24 compared with the same period last year, thanks to better tax revenues, the Treasury Department said Thursday.
Between October and June, the public deficit was reduced by 125 billion dollars, to reach 1300 billion dollars, compared to just over 1400 billion over the same nine months last year.
This improvement is mainly explained by better tax revenues, which increased by 10%, both on personal income tax and corporate income tax.
At the same time, spending also increased, but by 5%, mainly caused this time by a 33% increase in the cost of public debt, as a result of rising interest rates.
Overall, spending increased by $215 billion over the period, partly offset by the end of various tax credits put in place during the pandemic, the Treasury said.
On the revenue side, personal income taxes reached $1.9 trillion in the first nine months of the fiscal year, compared with $1.7 trillion in the same period a year earlier.
Part of the increase, however, is explained by a delay in the collection of taxes in certain parts of the country for the year 2023, which were recorded in 2024.
Corporate taxes, for their part, will increase from $306 billion between September 2022 and June 2023 to $393 billion between September 2023 and June 2024.