Decline in federal revenues largest since 1946. (News Briefs).

The Congressional Budget Office's much anticipated mid-year projections revealed a startling statistic: the 6.6 percent decline in revenues from 2001 to 2002 was the most dramatic in 56 years. Although details on which taxes were hardest hit will not be available for another year or two, CBO officials speculated that slumping capital gains realizations and corporate profits were the most likely culprits for the decline. President Bush's $1.35 trillion tax cut did not appear to be a major factor. The non-partisan fiscal agency also released updated projections for the federal budget. Last year's estimate of a $5.6 trillion surplus over the next 10 years has shrunk to just $300 billion. Assuming no major changes in fiscal policy, analysts expect the government to run relatively small deficits over the next few years before returning to surpluses beginning in fiscal year 2006. Both Republicans and Democrats spun the CBO's numbers to sway voters as November's cong ressional elections drew closer. (Source: The Chicago Tribune, August 28, 2002)