If Tax Collections Matched Spending, 2010’s Tax Freedom Day would be May 17
Posted By RichC on May 17, 2010
Federal Spending in 2009-10 Highest Since World War II; Deficit Reaches $13,158 Per Household
Recent news reports in USA Today and elsewhere have highlighted the historically low tax collections in 2009 and 2010, confirmed by the Tax Foundation’s annual Tax Freedom Day® calculations of April 8, 2009, and April 9, 2010.
“The importance of the current federal deficit can hardly be overstated,” commented Foundation economist Kail Padgitt, Ph.D., author of the Tax Freedom Day report. “Tax Freedom Day doesn’t include deficits because it’s a snapshot of the current year’s tax burden. If current taxes had to cover the deficit this year, however, Americans would be working until Monday, May 17, 2010, before earning enough money to pay for government.”
“That would cover all federal, state and local taxes, plus a $1.3 trillion federal budget deficit predicted by the Foundation in February, which the Congressional Budget Office has since revised to 1.5 trillion,” said Padgitt.
In 2010, the Foundation projects that federal, state and local taxes will amount to 26.89 percent of the nation’s income, considerably less than in 2007.
Comments