Congressional auditors on Friday reported a projected federal budget deficit estimate for last fiscal year at $250 billion well below previous estimates by both the Congress and the Bush administration. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said soaring tax revenues push the latest estimate to $10 billion below previous congressional predictions, and well below a July White House prediction of $296 billion. Better-than-expected tax receipts, especially from corporate profits, means the recently completed fiscal year was significantly better than the president's own prediction last February of a $423 billion deficit. The latest figures suggest a continuing trend of declining deficits since 2004, when a record $413 billion deficit was set. The CBO estimate noted that the positive deficit trend comes despite soaring war costs in Iraq and Afghanistan and $50 billion in emergency spending for hurricane relief.
