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.
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.
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
228 ANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVES
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 cur229
14. NATIONAL INCOME AND PRODUCT ACCOUNTS
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.
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. Grantsin-
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.
230 ANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVES
Table 14–1. FEDERAL TRANSACTIONS IN THE NATIONAL INCOME AND PRODUCT ACCOUNTS, 1995–2006
(In billions of dollars)
Description
Actual Estimate
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
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
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 ........................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................
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
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
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
* $50 million or less.
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 finan231
14. NATIONAL INCOME AND PRODUCT ACCOUNTS
Table 14–2. RELATIONSHIP OF THE BUDGET TO THE FEDERAL SECTOR, NIPA’s
Description
Actual Estimate
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
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
* $50 million or less.
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.
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.
232 ANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVES
Table 14–3. FEDERAL RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES IN THE NIPA’s, QUARTERLY, 2004–2006
(In billions of dollars; seasonally adjusted at annual rates)
Description
Actual Estimate
Oct.-Dec. Jan.-Mar. Apr.-June July-Sept. Oct.-Dec. Jan.-Mar. Apr.-June July-Sept. Oct.-Dec. Jan.-Mar. Apr.-June July-Sept.
2003 2004 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006
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
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
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 * ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................
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
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
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
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
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
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.
