According to the Treasury Department, the federal budget deficit shrank in the first seven months of the fiscal year.
For the fiscal year, the deficit is $855 billion, or 8% less than the same period a year ago. There was a surplus of $210 billion in April, a month that usually sees big inflows of tax payments.
April tax receipts totaled $776 billion, while government spending rose 23%. Seven months into the government's fiscal year, federal spending has outpaced tax receipts by $855 billion. Read more.