The U.S. government posted a budget surplus of $3 billion in January, the first monthly surplus since September of 2012, Market Watch reported on Tuesday. The Treasury Department marked a 16% increase in revenues driven in part by the expiration of the payroll tax-cut which Congress and the White House let lapse during fiscal cliff negotiations on January 1.
At the direction of President Obama, Congress reduced the payroll tax rate from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent in 2010, allowing the average U.S. household to pocket an additional $1,000 per year.
