Tax revenues to shrink deficit by $100 billion

[Alpharetta]

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/12120739.htm

Tax revenues to shrink deficit by $100 billion

By Edmund L. Andrews

NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON - For the first time since President Bush took office, an unpredicted leap in tax revenues is about to shrink the federal budget deficit this year by nearly $100 billion.

On Wednesday, White House officials plan to announce that the deficit for fiscal year 2005, which ends in September, will come in far lower than the $427 billion they estimated in February.

President Bush plans to hail the improvement at a Cabinet meeting the same day and to cite it as a validation for his argument that tax cuts have stimulated the economy and ultimately will help pay for themselves.

Based on revenue and spending data through June, the budget deficit was $76 billion lower, or a total of $251 billion, for the first nine months of fiscal 2005 than the $327 billion gap recorded at the same point one year earlier.

more at....
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/12120739.htm

[Ravenseye]

1. Un-Spin the Budget

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/11/opinion/11krugman.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fPaul%20Krugman

"It turns out that all of the upside surprise in tax receipts is coming from two sources. One is tax payments from corporations, up both because last year corporate profits grew much more rapidly than the rest of the economy and because the effective tax rate on corporations went up when a temporary tax break, introduced in 2002, expired. Both are one-time events"

[underpants]

12. Great read-Highly recommend this one

Krugman is great as usual

[JusticeForAll]

2. Well, Hail to the THIEF

I remember when the last President could brag about a SURPLUS!

Where did you spend all of our money GEORGE? <expletives deleted>

[NJCher]

3. whoop de do

We're supposed to be happy the deficit is lower than they projected?

All hail our fearless leader.

Doing handstands.

:crazy:


Cher

[WCGreen]

6. All this means is they can't forcast a budget.......

And they call themselves fisclly responsible.....

Jeeeezzzzz..

[salin]

4. Of course if you counted the costs of the war(s) - that erases

all declines in the deficit. Remember they keep all costs of the war OFF budget.

[bluestateguy]

5. He gets no credit for solving a problem he created

His deficit, his government, his wasteful tax cuts, his war in Iraq, his economy. First of all, we have a long way to go to get to a balanced budget, and secondly even if we did, he should not get any praise for doing it, as he created the huge deficits in the first place. He was handed a budget surplus in January of 2001 and chose to give it away in tax cuts for the Enron excutives, Halliburton contracts and a war in Iraq that never should have been fought.

[quisp]

7. and this administration is known for

cooking the forcasts to make them look good when the actual numbers come in. I don't trust 'em as far as I could throw 'em.

[Rockholm]

8. Get Out of Iraq and Shrink the Deficit Even More!

$400 BILLION and COUNTING!

[Mari333]

9. remember back when * said

the war would cost 5 billion and Iraqs oil monies would pay for it..lying sack of shit
www.costofwar.com

[Rockholm]

10. And they would welcome us with flowers.

Today, while passing out candy, a suicide bomber blew up those kids and an American soldier. Welcome to reality. Those kids would be alive if not for George W. Bush.

[seasat]

11. Shrub Inc has always high balled their revenue predictions.

In the past years the OMB has predicted a greater deficit than than the CBO or the independent think tank, The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). They do this so they can claim that they have made progess on reducing the deficit when the actual numbers come in lower. The CBPP has pointed out this "cooking the books" for several years.

The CBPP has an excellent analysis of the current lower deficit. 50 Billion is due to the expiration of the temporary tax cut to Corps. The CBPP also points out that there is an additional one year tax increase to encourage Corps to repatriate overseas profits. This turns into a tax cut for the years following 2005. (Link to CBPP analysis)

[wallwriter]

13. Wake me up when there's a surplus again.

[The_Casual_Observer]

14. All I can say is "arbusto". I 'll believe it when I see it stick.

[denverbill]

15. Yeah. Cut Social Security taxes to raise revenue also.

After all, if cutting income increases revenue, cutting Social Security taxes should save Social Security as well.