[Analytical Perspectives]
[Economic Assumptions and Analyses]
[14. National Income and Product Accounts]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
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14. NATIONAL INCOME AND PRODUCT ACCOUNTS
The National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs) are an integrated set
of measures of aggregate U.S. economic activity that are prepared by the
Department of Commerce. Because the NIPAs include Federal transactions
and are widely used in economic analysis, it is important to show the
NIPAs' distinctive presentation of Federal transactions and contrast it
with that of the budget.
One of the main purposes of the NIPAs is to measure the Nation's total
production of goods and services, known as gross domestic product (GDP),
and the incomes generated in its production. GDP is a measure of the
Nation's final output, which excludes intermediate product to avoid
double counting. Both government consumption expenditures and government
gross investment--State and local as well as Federal--are included in
GDP as part of final output, together with personal consumption
expenditures, gross private domestic investment, and net exports of
goods and services (exports minus imports).
Other government expenditures--social benefits, grants to State and
local governments, subsidies, and interest payments--are not purchases
of final output and as such are not included in GDP; however, these
transactions are recorded in the NIPA government current receipts and
expenditures account, together with government consumption expenditures
(which includes depreciation on government gross investment).
Federal transactions are included in the NIPAs as part of the
government sector. \1\ The Federal subsector is designed to measure
certain important economic effects of Federal transactions in a way that
is consistent with the conceptual framework of the entire set of
integrated accounts. The NIPA Federal subsector is not itself a budget,
because it is not a financial plan for proposing, determining, and
controlling the fiscal activities of the Government. Also, it covers
current transactions only, whereas the budget includes transactions that
the NIPA current account omits from its current receipts and current
expenditure totals as ``capital transfers.'' NIPA concepts also differ
in many other ways from budget concepts, and therefore the NIPA
presentation of Federal finances is significantly different from that of
the budget.
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\1\ The other subsector of the NIPA government sector is a single set
of transactions for all U.S. State and local units of government,
treated as a consolidated entity.
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Differences Between the NIPAs and the Budget
Federal transactions in the NIPAs are measured according to NIPA
accounting concepts in order to be compatible with the purposes of the
NIPAs and other transactions recorded in the NIPAs. As a result they
differ from the budget in netting and grossing, timing, and coverage.
These differences cause current receipts and expenditures in the NIPAs
to differ from total receipts and outlays in the budget, albeit by
relatively small amounts. \2\ Differences in timing and coverage also
cause the NIPA net Federal Government saving to differ from the budget
surplus or deficit. Netting and grossing differences have equal effects
on receipts and expenditures and thus have no effect on net Government
saving. Besides these differences, the NIPAs combine transactions into
different categories from those used in the budget.
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\2\ Over the period 1994-2004, NIPA current expenditures averaged 4.0
percent higher than budget outlays, while NIPA current receipts averaged
2.4 percent higher than budget receipts.
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December 2003 NIPA Revisions.--Comprehensive revisions to the NIPAs
introduced in December 2003 significantly changed the way Federal
transactions are measured in the NIPAs, and the ways in which the NIPAs
differ from the budget. The three most important changes were: 1)
reclassifying of nontaxes out of current tax receipts into current
transfer receipts from persons and from business (net); 2) switching
several items formerly netted against expenditures to current receipts:
interest and dividends received by Government, the current surplus of
Government enterprises, and tax receipts from the rest of the world
(formerly netted against transfer payments to the rest of the world); 3)
adding a new receipts category called ``income receipts on assets,''
which includes such items as Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas
royalties. The categories into which Government current expenditures and
current receipts are broken down in the NIPAs are now significantly
different from those used prior to the 2003 comprehensive revision. The
Bureau of Economic Analysis, however, has converted historical NIPA data
to the new basis.
Netting and grossing differences arise when the budget records certain
transactions as offsets to outlays while they are recorded as current
receipts in the NIPAs (or vice versa). The budget treats all income that
comes to the Government due to its sovereign powers--mainly, but not
exclusively, taxes--as governmental receipts. The budget offsets against
outlays any income that arises from voluntary business-type transactions
with the public. The NIPAs often follow this concept as well, and income
to Government enterprises such as the Postal Service or the power
administrations is offset against their expenditures--but the NIPAs now
treat the net surplus of Government enterprises as a component of
current receipts. However, the NIPAs have a narrower definition of
``business-type transactions'' than does the budget. Two classes of
receipts, rents and royalties, and regulatory or inspection fees, both
of which are classified as offsets to outlays in the budget, are
recorded in the NIPAs as Government
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receipts (income receipts on assets and current transfer receipts,
respectively). The NIPAs include Medicare premiums as Government
receipts, while the budget classifies them as business-type transactions
(offsetting receipts).
In the budget, any intragovernmental income from one account to
another is offset against outlays rather than being recorded as a
receipt so that total outlays and receipts measure transactions with the
public. Government contributions for Federal employee social insurance
(such as Social Security) is an example: the budget offsets these
payments against outlays. In contrast, the NIPAs treat the Federal
Government like any other employer and show contributions for Federal
employee social insurance as expenditures by the employing agencies and
as governmental (rather than offsetting) receipts. The NIPAs also impute
certain transactions that are not explicit in the budget. For example,
unemployment benefits for Federal employees are financed by direct
appropriations rather than social insurance contributions. The NIPAs
impute social insurance contributions by employing agencies to finance
these benefits--again, treating the Federal Government like any other
employer.
Timing differences for receipts occur because the NIPAs generally
record personal taxes and social insurance contributions when they are
paid and business taxes when they accrue, while the budget generally
records all receipts when they are received. Thus the NIPAs attribute
corporations' final settlement payments back to the quarter(s) in which
the profits that gave rise to the tax liability occurred. The delay
between accrual of liability and Treasury receipt of payment can result
in significant timing differences between NIPA and budget measures of
receipts for any given accounting period.
Timing differences also occur for expenditures. When the first day of
a month falls on a weekend or holiday, monthly benefit checks normally
mailed on the first day of the month may be mailed out a day or two
earlier; the budget then reflects two payments in one month and none the
next. On occasion, the budget totals reflect 13 monthly payments in one
year and only 11 the next. NIPA expenditure figures always reflect 12
benefit payments per year, giving rise to a timing difference compared
to the budget.
Coverage differences also differentiate the budget and the NIPAs. The
NIPA Federal subsector is a current account and excludes capital
transfers unrelated to current economic production, which are included
in the budget. Federal investment grants to State and local governments,
investment subsidies to business, lump sum payments to amortize the
unfunded liability of the Uniformed Services Retiree Health Care Fund,
and forgiveness of debt owed by foreign governments are included as
outlays in the budget but are excluded from NIPA current expenditures as
being capital transfers. Likewise, estate and gift taxes, included in
budget receipts, are excluded from NIPA current receipts as being
capital transfers. Also unlike the budget, the NIPAs exclude
transactions with U.S. territories. They also exclude the proceeds from
the sales of nonproduced assets such as land. Bonuses paid on Outer
Continental Shelf oil leases and proceeds from broadcast spectrum
auctions are shown as offsetting receipts in the budget and are deducted
from budget outlays. In the NIPAs these transactions are excluded as an
exchange of assets with no current production involved.
A coverage difference arises on the expenditure side because of the
NIPA treatment of Government investment. The budget includes outlays for
Federal investments as they are paid, while the Federal sector of the
NIPA instead excludes current investments but includes a depreciation
charge on past investments (``consumption of general government fixed
capital'') as part of ``current expenditures.'' The inclusion of
depreciation on fixed capital (structures, equipment and software) in
current expenditures is a proxy for the services that capital renders;
i.e., for its contribution to Government output of public services.
The treatment of Government pension plan income and outgo creates a
coverage difference. Whereas the budget treats employee payments to
these pension plans as governmental receipts, and employer contributions
by agencies as offsets to outlays because they are intragovernmental,
the NIPAs treat both of these components of employee compensation as
personal income, in the same way as it treats contributions to pension
plans in the private (household) sector. Likewise, the budget records a
Government check to a retired Government employee as an outlay, but
under NIPA concepts, no Government expenditure occurs at that time; the
payment is treated (like private pension payments) as a transfer of
income within the household sector.
Financial transactions such as loan disbursements, loan repayments,
loan asset sales, and loan guarantees are excluded from the NIPAs on the
grounds that such transactions simply involve an exchange of assets
rather than current production, income, or consumption. In contrast,
under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, the budget records the
estimated subsidy cost of the direct loan or loan guarantee as an outlay
when the loan is disbursed. The cash flows with the public are recorded
in nonbudgetary accounts as a means of financing the budget rather than
as budgetary transactions themselves. This treatment recognizes that
part of a Federal direct loan is an exchange of assets with equal value
but part is a subsidy to the borrower. It also recognizes the subsidy
normally granted by loan guarantees. In the NIPAs, neither the subsidies
nor the loan transactions are included. However, the NIPAs, like the
budget, include all interest transactions with the public, including
interest received by and paid to the loan financing accounts; and both
the NIPAs and the budget include administrative costs of program
operations.
Deposit insurance outlays for resolving failed banks and thrift
institutions are similarly excluded from the NIPAs on the grounds that
there are no offsetting cur
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rent income flows from these transactions. In 1991, this exclusion was
the largest difference between the NIPAs and the budget and made NIPA
net Government saving a significantly smaller negative number than the
budget deficit that year. In subsequent years, as assets acquired from
failed financial institutions were sold, these collections tended to
make the budget deficit a smaller negative figure than NIPA net Federal
Government saving.
Table 14-1. FEDERAL TRANSACTIONS IN THE NATIONAL INCOME AND PRODUCT ACCOUNTS, 1995-2006
(In billions of dollars)
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Actual Estimate
Description -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
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CURRENT RECEIPTS
Current tax receipts........................................ 836.8 913.6 1,010.2 1,105.9 1,165.2 1,305.6 1,266.9 1,087.1 1,056.2 1,118.9 1,237.7 1,307.6
Personal current taxes.................................... 578.2 648.2 729.0 814.1 868.5 987.4 993.8 852.5 780.9 789.4 875.3 942.6
Taxes on production and imports........................... 77.2 73.0 77.2 80.7 82.5 87.8 86.4 86.4 89.0 94.8 101.3 107.2
Taxes on corporate income................................. 177.8 187.7 198.9 205.9 207.9 223.5 179.5 140.9 178.5 226.4 252.9 249.6
Taxes from the rest of the world.......................... 3.7 4.7 5.1 5.2 6.2 6.8 7.1 7.4 7.9 8.2 8.2 8.2
Contributions for government social insurance............... 515.3 535.3 565.4 604.4 642.2 687.8 713.8 728.3 750.9 781.3 833.0 883.4
Income receipts on assets................................... 23.3 26.6 26.7 22.3 20.9 24.3 26.4 21.4 21.4 20.1 21.7 23.2
Current transfer receipts................................... 20.2 19.1 23.8 21.0 21.8 24.9 26.5 25.4 25.3 32.1 35.5 37.8
Current surplus of government enterprises................... 0.3 -1.9 0.2 -* 0.3 -1.3 -6.5 -2.4 7.7 5.3 0.1 -3.9
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Total current receipts................................ 1,395.9 1,492.7 1,626.4 1,753.5 1,850.3 2,041.2 2,027.1 1,859.9 1,861.5 1,957.7 2,128.0 2,248.1
===================================================================================================================================
CURRENT EXPENDITURES
Consumption expenditures.................................... 443.2 436.8 454.6 452.9 469.5 496.0 519.7 576.3 645.9 709.0 769.7 754.2
Defense................................................... 299.5 295.5 304.4 301.3 307.2 321.2 335.7 368.6 424.1 469.3 510.3 487.7
Nondefense................................................ 143.7 141.3 150.2 151.6 162.3 174.8 184.0 207.8 221.8 239.7 259.4 266.5
Current transfer payments................................... 836.0 873.0 908.2 940.3 976.4 1,023.2 1,108.0 1,217.5 1,308.3 1,377.3 1,459.1 1,561.7
Government social benefits................................ 635.3 670.2 700.0 716.4 733.0 762.7 823.6 901.6 955.3 1,005.8 1,065.9 1,162.6
Grants-in-aid to State and local governments.............. 184.5 188.6 194.1 209.9 227.7 244.1 268.2 296.8 329.8 349.0 366.8 367.2
Other transfers to the rest of the world.................. 16.2 14.1 14.2 14.0 15.7 16.4 16.3 19.0 23.2 22.5 26.4 31.9
Interest payments........................................... 285.1 295.8 299.4 299.7 285.9 283.3 267.9 234.8 215.3 219.7 241.5 276.9
Subsidies................................................... 34.8 33.3 31.3 33.6 36.1 49.6 53.7 37.5 45.6 41.1 52.9 56.6
Wage disbursements less accruals............................ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .........
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Total current expenditures............................ 1,599.1 1,638.9 1,693.5 1,726.5 1,767.9 1,852.0 1,949.3 2,066.2 2,215.1 2,347.1 2,523.2 2,649.3
===================================================================================================================================
Net Federal Government saving......................... -203.2 -146.1 -67.1 27.0 82.4 189.2 77.8 -206.3 -353.6 -389.5 -395.1 -401.3
ADDENDUM: TOTAL RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES
Current receipts............................................ 1,395.9 1,492.7 1,626.4 1,753.5 1,850.3 2,041.2 2,027.1 1,859.9 1,861.5 1,957.7 2,128.0 2,248.1
Capital transfer receipts................................... 14.6 17.1 19.7 23.9 27.6 28.8 28.2 26.4 21.7 24.7 23.6 26.0
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Total receipts........................................ 1,410.5 1,509.8 1,646.1 1,777.4 1,877.9 2,070.0 2,055.3 1,886.3 1,883.2 1,982.4 2,151.6 2,274.0
Current expenditures........................................ 1,599.1 1,638.9 1,693.5 1,726.5 1,767.8 1,852.0 1,949.3 2,066.2 2,215.1 2,347.1 2,523.2 2,649.3
Net investment:
Gross government investment:
Defense................................................. 52.2 52.6 44.5 45.4 46.5 48.5 49.9 54.5 58.6 67.4 72.7 71.9
Nondefense.............................................. 27.3 28.5 28.5 29.7 31.9 32.2 30.3 32.7 33.0 31.7 35.2 36.6
Less: Consumption of fixed capital:
Defense................................................. 61.9 61.4 60.6 59.8 59.7 60.2 60.3 60.5 61.3 62.9 64.4 65.2
Nondefense.............................................. 19.7 20.6 21.8 22.9 24.5 26.5 27.7 28.2 28.7 28.7 29.6 30.5
Capital transfer payments................................... 27.2 27.7 28.9 28.2 31.3 35.1 39.8 44.0 45.2 61.9 63.0 66.6
Net purchases of nonproduced assets......................... -7.4 -0.1 -11.0 -5.3 -1.7 -0.3 -0.9 0.2 ......... 0.1 -0.1 -0.1
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Total expenditures.................................... 1,616.7 1,665.5 1,702.2 1,741.8 1,791.7 1,880.8 1,980.3 2,108.8 2,261.9 2,417.0 2,600.0 2,729.0
===================================================================================================================================
Net lending or net borrowing (-)...................... -206.2 -155.7 -56.0 35.7 86.1 189.2 74.9 -222.6 -378.7 -434.3 -448.2 -454.7
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* $50 million or less.
Federal Sector Current Receipts
Table 14-1 shows Federal current receipts in the five major categories
and four of the subcategories now used in the NIPAs, which are similar
to the budget categories but with significant differences.
Current tax receipts is the largest major category of current
receipts, and its personal current taxes subcategory--composed primarily
of the individual income tax--is the largest single subcategory. The
NIPAs' taxes on corporate income subcategory differs in classification
from the corresponding budget category primarily because the NIPAs
include the deposit of earnings of the Federal Reserve System as
corporate profits taxes, while the budget treats these collections as
miscellaneous receipts. (The timing difference between the NIPAs and the
budget is especially large for corporate receipts.) The taxes on
production and imports subcategory is composed of excise taxes and
customs duties.
Contributions for Government social insurance is the second largest
major category of current receipts. It differs from the corresponding
budget category primarily because: (1) the NIPAs include Federal
employer contributions for social insurance as a governmental receipt,
while the budget offsets these contributions against outlays as
undistributed offsetting receipts; (2) the NIPAs include premiums for
Part B of Medicare as governmental receipts, while the budget nets them
against outlays; (3) the NIPAs treat Government employee contributions
to their pension plans as a transfer of personal income within the
household sector (as if the pension system were private), while the
budget includes them in governmental receipts; and (4) the NIPAs impute
employer contributions for Federal employees' unemployment insurance and
workers' compensation.
The income receipts on assets category consists mainly of interest
payments received on Government direct loans (such as student loans) and
rents and royalties on Outer Continental Shelf oil leases. The current
transfer receipts category consists primarily of deposit insurance
premiums, fees, fines and other receipts from both individuals and
businesses--virtually all of which are netted against outlays in the
budget. The current surplus (or deficit) of Government enterprises
category was formerly netted against subsidies on the expenditure side
of the accounts. This is the profit or loss of ``Government
enterprises,'' such as the Postal Service, which are business-type
operations of Government that usually appear in the budget as public
enterprise revolving funds. Depreciation (consumption of enterprise
fixed capital) is netted in calculating the current surplus of
Government enterprises.
Federal Sector Current Expenditures
Table 14-1 shows current expenditures in five major NIPA categories
and five subcategories, which are also very different from the budget
categories.
Government consumption expenditures are the goods and services
purchased by the Federal Government in the current account, including
compensation of employees and depreciation. Gross investment (shown
among the addendum items in Table 14-1) is thus excluded from current
expenditures in computing net Government saving on a NIPA basis, whereas
depreciation--charges on federally owned fixed capital--(``consumption
of general government fixed capital'') is included. The NIPAs treat
State and local investment and capital consumption in the same way--
regardless of the extent to which it is financed with Federal aid
(capital transfer payments) or from State and local own-source receipts.
Although gross investment is not included in Government current
expenditures, both Government gross investment and current consumption
expenditures (including depreciation) are included in total GDP, which
makes the treatment of the government sectors in the NIPAs similar to
that of the private sector. Investment includes structures, equipment,
and computer software.
Current transfer payments is the largest expenditure category.
Transfer payments for Government social benefits consist mainly of
income security and health programs, such as Social Security and
Medicare paid to U.S. residents--and to retirees living outside the U.S.
Payment of pension benefits to former Government employees is not
included, as explained previously. Grants-in-aid to State and local
governments help finance a range of programs, including income security,
Medicaid, and education (but capital transfer payments for construction
of highways, airports, waste-water treatment plants, and mass transit
are excluded). ``Current transfer payments to the rest of the world
(net)'' consists mainly of grants to foreign governments.
Interest payments is the interest paid by the Government on its debt
(excluding debt held by trust funds, other than Federal employee pension
plans; and other Government accounts). Where the budget nets interest
received on loans against outlays, the NIPAs now treat it as current
receipts.
Subsidies consist of subsidy payments for resident businesses
(excluding subsidies for investment). NIPA subsidies do not include the
imputed credit subsidies estimated as budget outlays under credit
reform. Rather, loans and guarantees are categorized as financial
transactions and are excluded from the NIPAs except for associated
interest and fees.
Wage disbursements less accruals is an adjustment that is necessary to
the extent that the wages paid in a period differ from the amount earned
in the period.
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Differences in the Estimates
From the introduction of the unified budget in January 1968 until the
early 1990s, NIPA receipts were less than budget receipts in most years.
This was due principally to the fact that estate and gift taxes, which
the NIPAs exclude as capital transfers, exceeded Medicare premiums,
which the NIPAs include as a governmental receipt but the budget treats
as an offsetting receipt. (In the budget, offsetting receipts are netted
against the outlay total and not included in the governmental receipts
total.) NIPA current expenditures have usually been higher than budget
outlays (from which the Medicare premiums and employer retirement
contributions are netted out as offsetting receipts), despite the
omission from NIPA expenditures of capital transfer grants and pension
benefit payments to former Government employees.
Two components of budget outlays, however, are sometimes sufficiently
large in combination to exceed the netting and grossing adjustments.
These are finan
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cial transactions and net investment (the difference between gross
investment and depreciation). Large outlays associated with resolving
the failed savings and loan associations and banks in 1990 and 1991
caused those year's budget outlays to exceed NIPA current expenditures.
With the change in budgetary treatment of direct loans in 1992 under
credit reform, one type of financial transaction--direct loans to the
public--has been recorded in the budget in a way that is closer to the
NIPA treatment. Disbursement and repayment of loans made since that time
are recorded outside the budget as in the Federal sector of the NIPAs,
although, unlike the NIPAs, credit subsidies are recorded as budget
outlays.
Table 14-2. RELATIONSHIP OF THE BUDGET TO THE FEDERAL SECTOR, NIPA's
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Actual Estimate
Description -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
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-------------------------- RECEIPTS-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget receipts............................................. 1,351.8 1,453.1 1,579.3 1,721.8 1,827.5 2,025.2 1,991.2 1,853.2 1,782.3 1,880.1 2,052.8 2,177.6
Contributions to government employee retirement plans..... -4.6 -4.5 -4.4 -4.3 -4.5 -4.8 -4.7 -4.6 -4.6 -4.6 -4.6 -4.6
Capital transfers received................................ -14.6 -17.1 -19.7 -23.9 -27.6 -28.8 -28.2 -26.4 -21.7 -24.7 -23.6 -26.0
Other coverage differences................................ -2.6 -3.6 -3.8 -5.7 -6.6 -7.8 -7.7 -8.8 -9.1 -10.5 -11.4 -12.3
Netting and grossing...................................... 63.3 62.8 69.5 64.5 65.7 70.8 70.0 76.2 91.0 97.4 106.4 118.7
Timing differences........................................ 2.4 2.0 5.5 1.2 -4.2 -13.3 6.6 -29.8 23.7 20.0 8.4 -5.4
NIPA current receipts................................... 1,395.9 1,492.7 1,626.4 1,753.5 1,850.3 2,041.2 2,027.1 1,859.9 1,861.5 1,957.7 2,128.0 2,248.1
===================================================================================================================================
EXPENDITURES
Budget outlays.............................................. 1,515.8 1,560.5 1,601.2 1,652.6 1,701.9 1,789.1 1,863.0 2,011.0 2,159.9 2,292.2 2,479.4 2,567.6
Government employee retirement plan transactions.......... 28.7 26.8 31.6 31.3 32.1 31.7 31.5 33.7 32.5 34.0 42.4 47.0
Deposit insurance and other financial transactions........ 2.1 0.9 9.3 7.6 5.7 6.0 7.9 1.5 -1.6 -8.6 -20.5 -5.1
Capital transfer payments................................. -27.2 -27.7 -28.9 -28.2 -31.3 -35.1 -39.8 -44.0 -45.2 -45.7 -47.3 -50.3
Net purchases of nonproduced assets....................... 17.3 7.4 -1.4 -1.4 -0.4 -1.1 1.2 1.0 12.3 -0.1 0.1 -0.1
Net investment............................................ 7.4 0.1 11.0 5.3 1.7 0.2 0.9 -0.2 * -7.5 -13.8 -12.8
Other coverage differences................................ -11.5 -1.8 6.7 -4.4 -2.9 -3.9 0.6 -8.8 -22.7 -16.9 -21.0 -22.1
Netting and grossing differences.......................... 63.3 62.8 69.5 64.5 65.7 70.8 70.0 76.2 91.0 97.4 106.4 118.7
Timing differences........................................ 3.1 9.8 -5.6 -0.8 -4.7 -5.6 14.1 -4.3 -11.0 2.2 -2.6 6.4
NIPA current expenditures............................... 1,599.1 1,638.9 1,693.5 1,726.5 1,767.8 1,852.0 1,949.3 2,066.2 2,215.1 2,347.1 2,523.2 2,649.3
ADDENDUM
Budget surplus or deficit (-)............................. -164.0 -107.5 -21.9 69.2 125.5 236.2 128.2 -157.8 -377.6 -412.1 -426.6 -390.1
NIPA net Federal government saving........................ -203.2 -146.1 -67.1 27.0 82.4 189.2 77.8 -206.3 -353.6 -389.5 -395.1 -401.3
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* $50 million or less.
During the period 1975-1992, the budget deficit was a larger negative
number than net Federal Government saving as measured in the NIPAs every
year. The largest difference, $78.8 billion, occurred in 1991 as a
result of resolving failed financial institutions as discussed above;
the budget deficit was then -$269.3 billion, while the NIPA net
Government saving was -$190.5 billion. In 1993-2002, the NIPA net
Federal Government saving was a larger negative number than the budget
deficit or lower positive number than the budget surplus each year. For
2003 and 2004, and in the estimate for 2005, though not that for 2006,
the NIPA net Federal Government saving is a smaller negative number than
the budget deficit.
Table 14-1 displays Federal transactions using NIPA concepts with
actual data for 1995-2004 and estimates for 2005 and 2006 consistent
with the Administration's budget proposals. Table 14-2 summarizes the
reasons for differences between the data. Table 14-3 displays quarterly
data beginning with the last quarter of 2003 based on NIPA concepts.
Annual NIPA data for 1948-2006 are published in Section 14 of a separate
budget volume, Historical Tables, Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal
Year 2006.
Detailed estimates of NIPA current receipts and expenditures will be
published in a forthcoming issue of the Department of Commerce
publication, Survey of Current Business and on the Bureau of Economic
Analysis website at http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/pubs.htm.
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Table 14-3. FEDERAL RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES IN THE NIPA's, QUARTERLY, 2004-2006
(In billions of dollars; seasonally adjusted at annual rates)
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Actual Estimate
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Oct.-Dec. Jan.-Mar. Apr.-June July- Oct.-Dec. Jan.-Mar. Apr.-June July- Oct.-Dec. Jan.-Mar. Apr.-June July-
Description --------------------------------- Sept. --------------------------------- Sept. --------------------------------- Sept.
----------- ----------- ----------
2003 2004 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006
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CURRENT RECEIPTS
Current tax receipts........................................ 1,074.9 1,073.8 1,098.5 1,096.7 1,168.0 1,189.8 1,205.2 1,214.8 1,235.5 1,247.3 1,262.7
Personal current taxes.................................... 772.5 768.3 781.5 794.3 850.2 866.5 880.5 892.8 915.5 925.4 937.3
Taxes on production and imports........................... 89.6 89.0 89.3 89.2 94.3 97.6 98.4 99.1 101.1 102.5 103.7
Taxes on corporate income................................. 204.9 207.9 219.5 204.9 215.4 217.5 218.0 214.6 210.7 211.2 213.5
Taxes from the rest of the world.......................... 7.9 8.6 8.3 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2
Contributions for government social insurance............... 769.5 787.9 797.6 806.2 837.1 847.5 857.9 867.8 893.4 904.1 914.7
Income receipts on assets................................... 25.5 22.9 22.2 22.9 25.2 25.7 25.9 26.2 26.4 26.9 27.3
Current transfer receipts................................... 25.6 26.1 26.2 26.6 28.6 29.2 29.7 30.1 30.8 31.6 32.4
Current surplus of government enterprises................... 5.0 4.6 4.5 4.3 -0.3 -1.9 -3.0 -4.2 -4.2 -4.9 -5.7
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Total current receipts................................ 1,900.6 1,915.3 1,949.1 1,956.7 2,058.7 2,090.3 2,115.8 2,134.5 2,182.0 2,204.9 2,231.4
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CURRENT EXPENDITURES
Consumption expenditures.................................... 671.3 691.1 700.3 713.0 741.9 752.4 761.4 748.5 741.8 729.9 719.9
Defense................................................... 450.2 465.2 473.6 487.1 506.1 510.9 513.9 502.7 496.0 484.0 474.0
Nondefense................................................ 221.1 225.9 226.7 225.9 235.8 241.5 247.5 245.8 245.8 245.9 245.9
Current transfer payments................................... 1,350.6 1,365.9 1,367.9 1,368.8 1,451.0 1,455.5 1,465.5 1,473.5 1,567.3 1,568.3 1,583.4
Government social benefits................................ 972.5 986.2 993.0 1,004.3 1,050.0 1,057.6 1,064.4 1,072.0 1,162.9 1,171.7 1,180.4
Grants-in-aid to State and local governments.............. 357.2 346.0 351.9 342.1 364.7 372.0 373.6 370.1 362.8 365.1 369.6
Other transfers to the rest of the world.................. 20.8 33.7 23.0 22.4 36.4 25.9 27.5 31.4 41.5 31.4 33.3
Interest payments........................................... 214.7 211.1 220.7 220.0 232.2 239.7 248.0 257.0 266.6 276.7 287.2
Subsidies................................................... 43.2 39.7 38.7 39.0 50.6 54.2 56.8 54.9 59.7 56.1 52.3
Wage disbursements less accruals............................ ......... -1.5 1.5 * ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .........
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Total current expenditures............................ 2,279.8 2,306.3 2,329.1 2,340.8 2,475.7 2,501.7 2,531.7 2,533.9 2,635.3 2,630.9 2,642.8
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Net Federal Government saving......................... -379.2 -391.0 -380.0 -384.1 -417.1 -411.5 -415.9 -399.3 -453.4 -426.0 -411.4
ADDENDUM: TOTAL RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES
Current receipts............................................ 1,900.6 1,915.3 1,949.1 1,956.7 2,058.7 2,090.3 2,115.8 2,134.5 2,182.0 2,204.9 2,231.4
Capital transfer receipts................................... 22.9 24.2 23.0 26.1 20.9 21.0 21.3 21.9 22.7 23.8 25.1
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Total receipts........................................ 1,923.5 1,939.5 1,972.0 1,982.7 2,079.6 2,111.3 2,137.1 2,156.4 2,204.7 2,228.7 2,256.5
Current expenditures........................................ 2,279.8 2,306.3 2,329.1 2,340.8 2,475.7 2,501.7 2,531.7 2,533.9 2,635.3 2,630.9 2,642.8
Net investment:
Gross government investment:
Defense................................................. 63.4 69.0 67.6 69.8 73.6 72.4 73.6 74.3 71.0 71.9 70.5
Nondefense.............................................. 32.8 33.2 36.5 34.6 37.1 37.8 38.4 38.4 38.7 38.9 39.2
Less: Consumption of fixed capital:
Defense................................................. 61.8 62.5 63.5 63.9 64.3 64.5 64.7 64.9 65.1 65.3 65.5
Nondefense.............................................. 28.9 29.1 29.3 29.4 29.5 29.8 30.0 30.2 30.5 30.7 31.0
Capital transfer payments................................... 61.5 60.0 57.5 66.9 63.0 65.0 64.9 65.1 66.3 67.2 66.9
Net purchases of nonproduced assets......................... -0.7 ......... -0.8 1.8 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
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Total expenditures.................................... 2,346.1 2,376.9 2,397.2 2,420.4 2,555.8 2,582.8 2,614.0 2,616.7 2,715.9 2,713.1 2,723.0
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Net lending or net borrowing (-)...................... -422.6 -437.4 -425.2 -437.7 -476.2 -471.6 -477.0 -460.3 -511.2 -484.4 -466.5
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Department of Commerce advance estimates for the Oct.-Dec. quarter, released January 28, 2005, were not available in time for inclusion in this table.
* $50 million or less.