US budget deficit halves in 2022

MISE À DAY

The US budget deficit has halved in 2022 compared to 2021 and after an all-time high two years ago due to the COVID-19 health crisis. 

The deficit stood at $1.375 billion for the 2022 fiscal year ending in September, or $1.4 trillion less than last year, “the largest reduction in the federal deficit in American history”, announced the Department of the Treasury on Friday.

It now represents 5.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the world's largest economy against 12.3% last year.

“This is proof of our historic economic recovery, driven by our vaccine effort and President Biden's support plan,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

Revenues on the year, brought by income taxes – by far the first resource of the federal state – and corporate taxes, reached a historic record of 4896 billion dollars, up 21%, said a Treasury official .

Spending was down $550 billion or 8.1% due to reduced COVID-19 related spending, including unemployment benefits and small business support.

< p>They nevertheless amount to 6272 billion dollars, more than the budget forecasts envisaged, due to the rise in interest rates which increases the cost of the immense American debt and the measures of the administration Biden to reduce the burden of student loans.

On the side of federal loans deraux, the indebtedness of the United States increased by 2000 billion dollars in 2022 to amount to 24.300 billion dollars or 97% of the American GDP (compared to 98.4 in 2021).