During a recession, it is inevitable that a government will experience a budget deficit due to decreased tax revenues and increased transfer payments, regardless of any fiscal policy measures taken.

During a recession, many people lose their jobs or earn less money, which leads to lower tax revenues for the government. When the government collects less money through taxes, it may not have enough funds to cover its expenses. At the same time, the government often increases spending on programs that help people, like unemployment benefits, which are called transfer payments. This combination of lower income from taxes and higher spending creates a budget deficit, meaning the government spends more than it earns. For example, if a city usually collects $1 million in taxes but only collects $700,000 during a recession while spending $800,000 on support programs, it will have a deficit of $100,000.