Business Lag Blamed For '62 Budget Deficit: Surpluses Are Rare
The Government reported yesterday that its budget deficit in the fiscal year just ended was $6.3 billion. This was about $700 million, or 10 per cent less than the AdministrationÛªs advance estimate.</br></br>For the 1962 fiscal year that ended June 30, spending totaled $87.7 billion, a sharp drop of $1.4 billion from President Kennedy's estimate of last January. Major reductions occurred in farm, welfare and health, housing, foreign aid and veterans housing programs.</br></br>Tax revenues totaled $81.4 billion, for the period, about $700 million below the January estimate. An excessively high preliminary estimate of 1961 corporate profits was blamed for the fact revenues were less than anticipated.</br></br>A report on how the Government fared financially in fiscal year 1962 was issued by Budget Director David E. Bell and Treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon.</br></br>The deficit was the 10th in 16 fiscal years since World War II. The six budget surpluses in the postwar period came in the administrations of former Presidents Harry