The US budget deficit fell sharply in just-ended fiscal 2012 to $1.1 trillion, but remained at an uncomfortably high ratio to the size of the economy, the Treasury reported Friday.
The fiscal shortfall topped $1 trillion for the fourth straight year, but dropped from $1.3 trillion in 2011, as the Obama administration answered deep pressure to narrow the shortfall.
Government receipts for the year through September 30 were up 6.4 percent to $2.45 trillion, the largest gains made from higher payroll deduction returns and a better corporate tax take.
