The U.S. budget deficit grew 77% in the first 4 months of the 2019 fiscal year (beginning Oct. 1) from the year prior, driven by sweeping tax cuts passed at the end of 2017 and increased federal spending.
Data: Factset; Chart: Naema Ahmed/Axios
The big picture: President Trump is acting true to history. Every Republican president since Reagan has left office with a budget deficit higher than the one he inherited. Clinton and Obama, by contrast, left office with smaller deficits.
By the numbers: If you look at the breakdown of Treasury receipts in fiscal 2018, almost every category went up, year-on-year. Individual income tax receipts, for instance, rose by 6%, or $96 billion.
- The exception is corporate income taxes. They totaled $297 billion in fiscal 2017, and just $205 billion in fiscal 2018. That's a decline of $92 billion, or 31%.
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