The federal budget deficit totaled $1.06 trillion in the first six months of the current fiscal year, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.
Receipts rose to a record $2.18 trillion, an increase of 7% compared to the same period a year ago, while outlays grew 3% to $3.25 trillion. Corporate tax revenues, which increased by 32%, played a major role in the growth of receipts. On the spending side, interest payments shot up 36% to $522 billion. Spending on defense also rose, by 6% to $410 billion, as did outlays for Social Security, which rose 8% to $741 billion.