US budget deficit up 12% from year ago

WASHINGTON — The federal government recorded a budget deficit of $215.2 billion in February, up significantly from a year earlier as the impact of the GOP tax cuts passed in December begin to surface.

The Treasury Department said Monday that the February deficit was 12.1 percent higher than a year ago, reflecting in part a drop of $5 billion in individual withholding taxes paid last month compared with a year ago. In February, employers started using tax tables that withheld less from paychecks based on the new law.

Over the first five months of this budget year, which began Oct. 1, the deficit totaled $391 billion, an increase of 11.5 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The deficit picture has darkened in part because of the $1.5 trillion in tax cuts. The Trump administration argues that the tax cuts will pay for themselves over time by boosting growth.