Budget Gap Shrinks to Narrowest Since 2008 So Far in Fiscal Year

The U.S. budget deficit so far this fiscal year was the smallest since 2008 as a stronger economy bolstered tax payments by consumers and businesses, a government report showed.

The $365.9 billion shortfall from October through June compared with a $509.8 billion gap in the same period a year earlier, the Treasury Department said in a report today in Washington. Last month, the government posted a $70.5 billion surplus compared with a $116.5 billion excess a year earlier, the report also showed.