Federal tax revenues exceeded $1 trillion for the first time ever in the first four months of the fiscal year, from October to January, but the federal deficit still increased by $11 billion, according to data released by the U.S. Treasury Wednesday.
The Treasury reported record tax revenues of $1,046,224,000,000 for the months of October, November and December of 2014 and January of fiscal 2015, which is about $85 billion more than the government collected in fiscal 2014 through January, according to CNSNews. In fiscal 2014, the government collected $960,598,000,000.
Despite the increase in tax revenue, the government still ran a $194.2 billion deficit, up from $182.8 billion during the same period last year.
The government publishes its "total receipts" each month, which includes all revenue from individual and corporate income taxes, social insurance and retirement taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, customs duties, and "miscellaneous receipts."
It's the first time ever that the government has brought in over a trillion in tax revenue during the first four months of a fiscal year. Last year's amount has been bumped down to the second-highest ever.
Since 1998's fiscal year, when the government collected $797,331,210,000, real federal revenues in the October through January period have increased by 31.2 percent, reported CNSNews.
The increase signals an improving economy and continued economic recovery from the recession. As more people rejoin the workforce, the government is collecting higher tax revenues and smaller payments to programs like unemployment assistance, reported The Associated Press. It also reflects efforts by Congress to bring the deficit under control through higher taxes and increased spending cuts.
President Barack Obama released his new budget proposal last week. In it, he estimates the 2015 deficit to rise to $583 billion, significantly higher than the Congressional Budget Office's most recent estimate, and asks for congressional authorization to spend $4 trillion over the next year.
Obama proposed an increase in taxes on the wealthy, and would funnel the additional tax revenue towards rebuilding America's roads and bridges, and toward a program that aims to provide two years of free community college to qualified students, AP reported.
Some of the president's proposals are already causing a stir amongst Republicans, who have said they will soon release revised budgets that will eliminate deficits over the next decade.
