Deficit reaches $146.8 billion

The federal government recorded a budget deficit of $146.8 billion in May, helping push the total deficit so far this year 23 percent above the same period a year ago.

Last month's deficit followed a surplus of $214.3 billion in April, a month that traditionally ends in the black because of the federal income tax filing deadline.

The deficit for the first eight months of this budget year, which began on Oct. 1, totals $532.2 billion, up by $99.4 billion from the $432.9 billion imbalance run up during the same period last year. The deficit increase reflects in part the impact of the $1.5 trillion tax cut that President Trump pushed through Congress in December.