U.S. ran $214.3B surplus in April on annual spike in tax revenue

The federal government swung to a surplus of $214.3 billion in April, primarily reflecting the revenue from that month’s annual tax filing deadline.

The Treasury Department reported Thursday that last month’s surplus increased 17.4% from a year ago. The record April surplus reflected a rise in tax revenue and a decrease in the costs of certain health care and benefit programs that were pulled to March.