Federal budget deficit climbs to $2 trillion as fiscal jitters multiply

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The federal budget deficit rose to nearly $2 trillion for the past fiscal year, spurred in part by ballooning interest payments and tariff refunds, the Congressional Budget Office reported Thursday.

The gap between the revenue the federal government collects and the amount it spends widened by $218 billion, or 12%, in the last fiscal year, which ended September 30.

Net interest payments on the public debt topped $1 trillion for the first time, driven up 11% by the nation’s skyrocketing debt levels and higher interest rates. The US spent more on interest than on any category other than Social Security.

The deficit also grew because the Trump administration had to issue refunds after the Supreme Court found that certain global tariffs it imposed violated federal law . The CBO estimates that about $130 billion in tariff refunds was issued in the most recent fiscal year.

Although the economy is in relatively good shape, the nation’s fiscal health has worsened in recent years with neither Republicans nor Democrats on Capitol Hill willing to fully address the issue.

“Clearly, we can’t keep going like we have,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal watchdog group, said in a statement. “Our fiscal path has been running backwards for far too long; it’s time to start working on the path forward.”

The US debt hit a record $40 trillion in August, a grim milestone that will have consequences for Americans, businesses and the government for years to come. Yet the “big, beautiful bill” that President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans enacted last year is expected to add trillions more to the national debt over a decade as its generous tax breaks outweigh the package’s spending cuts.

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America can’t grow its way out of its debt problem

The nation’s growing financial woes, along with rising corporate debt supply and expectations for higher Federal Reserve interest rates, have sparked turmoil in bond markets in recent months. Investors are increasingly jittery, which has sent rates on US debt soaring. That has also led to higher mortgage rates, making it even more difficult to buy and sell homes.

The Republicans’ sweeping tax cuts are also starting to have an effect. Although many businesses are raking in higher profits, corporate tax revenue declined by 16% to $382 billion.

The “big, beautiful bill” allowed companies to take larger deductions for certain investments, the CBO noted, such as immediately deducting research and development costs and certain types of new buildings, including manufacturing plants.

The drop in corporate tax revenues shows that companies are taking advantage of the law’s provisions, said Chris Towner, policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Meanwhile, spending on Social Security and Medicare continued to grow as the nation ages and the programs’ benefit costs increased. Medicaid spending also jumped, spurred by rising healthcare costs. Most of the “big, beautiful bill’s” historic cuts to Medicaid don’t start kicking in until next year.

Lawmakers will likely have another chance to address the nation’s fiscal problems next year, when the US is once again expected to hit the debt ceiling .

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美国国会预算办公室周四报告称，由于利息支出和关税退款大幅增加，上一财年联邦预算赤字上升至近 2 万亿美元。

在截至 9 月 30 日的上一个财政年度，联邦政府的收入与支出之间的差距扩大了 2180 亿美元，即 12%。

受国家债务水平飙升和利率走高的影响，公共债务净利息支出首次突破1万亿美元大关，增幅达11%。除社会保障外，美国的利息支出超过了其他任何类别。

赤字扩大的另一个原因是，最高法院裁定特朗普政府征收的某些全球关税违反了联邦法律，导致政府不得不退还部分税款。国会预算办公室估计，在最近一个财政年度，政府退还的关税总额约为1300亿美元。

尽管经济状况相对良好，但近年来国家的财政状况却有所恶化，国会山的共和党人和民主党人都不愿彻底解决这个问题。

“显然，我们不能再这样下去了，”负责任联邦预算委员会主席玛雅·麦克吉尼斯在一份声明中表示。该委员会是一个财政监督机构。“我们的财政道路倒退的时间太长了；现在是时候开始着手制定前进的道路了。”

美国债务在8月份突破了创纪录的40万亿美元，这一严峻的里程碑将对美国民众、企业和政府产生深远的影响。然而，特朗普总统和国会共和党人去年通过的“庞大而美好的法案”预计将在未来十年内使国家债务再增加数万亿美元，因为该法案慷慨的减税措施抵消了其削减开支的力度。

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美国无法通过经济增长摆脱债务问题。

近几个月来，美国日益严重的财政困境、不断攀升的企业债务供应以及市场对美联储加息的预期，引发了债券市场的动荡。投资者情绪日益紧张，导致美国国债利率飙升。这也推高了抵押贷款利率，使得房屋买卖更加困难。

共和党的全面减税政策也开始产生影响。尽管许多企业的利润有所增长，但企业税收收入却下降了16%，至3820亿美元。

国会预算办公室指出，这项“庞大而美好的法案”允许公司对某些投资进行更大幅度的扣除，例如立即扣除研发成本和某些类型的新建筑，包括制造工厂。

负责任的联邦预算委员会政策主管克里斯·汤纳表示，企业税收收入的下降表明，企业正在利用该法律的条款。

与此同时，随着美国人口老龄化和各项福利项目成本的增加，社会保障和医疗保险的支出持续增长。受医疗保健成本上涨的刺激，医疗补助计划的支出也大幅增加。这项“宏大法案”中对医疗补助计划的历史性削减措施，大部分要到明年才会生效。

明年，当美国预计再次达到债务上限时，立法者们可能还有另一次机会来解决国家的财政问题。