by Calculated Risk on 4/10/2009 02:46:00 PM

From Rex Nutting at MarketWatch: Budget deficit triples to $957 billion for year

The U.S. federal budget deficit rose to a record $956.8 billion in the first six months of the fiscal year ... the Treasury Department reported Friday.
...
In March, the deficit widened to $192.3 billion from $48.2 billion in March 2008. Outlays rose 41% to $321.2 billion from $227 billion, while receipts dropped 28% to $129 billion from $178.8 billion.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the year-over-year change in total Federal tax receipts.

For March 2009, receipts were off 27.9% compared to March 2008.

For individual income taxes, receipts were off 27.3%.

For corporate income taxes, receipts were off 89.6% (from $32.6 billion in March 2008 to $3.4 billion in March 2009).

For Social Security payroll taxes - Employment and General Retirement (off-budget) - receipts were flat.

The year-over-year decline in receipts is similar to the previous recession, but that decline was a combination of a weak economy and tax changes. This decline is all about the economy - especially the sharp decline in corporate tax receipts.