Uncle Sam is making a lot of money. But he doesn’t quite know why.
Driven by a post-pandemic boom, federal revenue will reach levels not seen in two decades, with taxes paid by individuals driving much of the surge.
That spectacular news, combined with less pandemic-related spending, is helping tame the budget deficit, which will come in around only $1 trillion this year. Over each of the last two years the government ended up roughly $3 trillion in the red.
The Congressional Budget Office said the surge comes chiefly in individual income tax receipts, which account for 10.