The U.S. budget deficit will widen to a record of about $490 billion next year, an administration official said, leaving a deep budget hole for the next president.

The projected deficit for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is far higher than the $407 billion forecast by President George W. Bush in February. The official also confirmed a report in USA Today that the deficit this year will be less than the $410 billion estimated in February.

The bigger shortfall for fiscal 2009 may reflect dwindling tax receipts because of the U.S. economic slowdown, the cost of payments distributed under the $168 billion economic stimulus package and the continuing cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We've already seen a pretty sharp cooling in tax receipts and it's just going to continue into next fiscal year," Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Capital Markets, said in a telephone interview.

White House press secretary Dana Perino refused to comment on the numbers, while adding that the administration said when the economic package passed in February that it might increase the deficit.

Continued at Bloomberg