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Budget Deficit

Government and Fiscal

A budget deficit occurs when a government's spending in a given fiscal year exceeds its revenue from taxes and other sources, with the shortfall typically financed by issuing government debt, and its opposite, a budget surplus, occurs when revenue exceeds spending. In the United States the federal budget deficit is calculated and reported annually by the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget, most often expressed both in absolute dollar terms and as a percentage of GDP to allow comparison across time and with other countries, and the size and trajectory of the deficit is a recurring focus of fiscal policy debate and, at the extreme, a factor credit rating agencies weigh in sovereign credit assessments.

Facts
Classification
Release FrequencySourced to the subject's own account
Annual 1
Sources
1. Government budget balance (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Wikipedia, "Government budget balance", lead section
    The government budget balance, also referred to as the general government balance, public budget balance, or public fiscal balance, is the difference between government revenues and spending.
  • Introduction, frequency
    In the United States the federal budget deficit is calculated and reported annually by the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget, most often expressed both in absolute dollar terms and as a percentage of GDP to allow comparison across time and with other countries, and the size and trajectory of the deficit is a recurring focus of fiscal policy debate and, at the extreme, a factor credit rating agencies weigh in sovereign credit assessments.
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