US on track for narrowest budget deficit since 2008

The U.S. government ran a big budget surplus in April, due to a flood of tax payments that helped keep the budget on track for the lowest annual deficit in six years. The Treasury Department said the April surplus totaled $106.9 billion, down slightly from $112.9 billion in the same month a year ago. The government usually runs a surplus during April, when individual tax returns are due and corporations must make quarterly tax payments. Through the first seven months of the 2014 budget year, which started in October, the deficit totals $206.4 billion, down 37 percent from the same period last year. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is projecting a deficit of $492 billion for the full budget year, which would be the smallest deficit since 2008.