Trump administration warns tax receipts are coming in slowly, government could run out of cash soone [View all]
Source: Washington Post
Trump administration warns tax receipts are coming in slowly, government could run out of cash sooner than expected
By Damian Paletta and Max Ehrenfreund May 24 at 2:27 PM
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday said that tax receipts were coming in “slower than expected” and that the federal government could run out of cash sooner than it had thought.
Mulvaney’s comments, which came during a House Budget Committee hearing, resurrected an issue that Congress has mostly ignored in recent months but that will soon force some tough political decisions. ... A few hours later, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin echoed these concerns, telling another House committee, “I urge you raise the debt limit before you leave for the summer.”
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The Bipartisan Policy Center, which analyzes federal receipts and spending, had estimated that the government had until November to address the debt-ceiling issue, but it recently moved up its projection to Oct. 2 because tax receipts are coming in slower than expected and a huge federal payment is due that day. The government is expected to make a payment of between $70 billion and $80 billion to the Military Retirement Trust Fund. As of Monday, the government's cash balance was $164.9 billion, a figure that will be slowly drawn down over time.
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If tax receipts are coming in slower than expected, that could increase pressure on lawmakers to raise or suspend the debt ceiling by the August recess. Such votes can be politically unpopular, but many business groups have warned that failing to raise the debt ceiling could lead to a financial crisis because the U.S. government might not have enough money to pay its bills.
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Max Ehrenfreund writes for Wonkblog and compiles Wonkbook, a daily policy newsletter. You can subscribe here. Before joining The Washington Post, Ehrenfreund wrote for the Washington Monthly and The Sacramento Bee.
Follow @MaxEhrenfreund
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/05/24/trump-administration-warns-tax-receipts-are-coming-in-slowly-government-could-run-out-of-cash-sooner-than-expected/
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