The Patriot Post® · Tax Freedom Day Is a Little Earlier This Year

Today is Tax Freedom Day, the day each year that we recognize the number of days needed to work off federal taxes. This year, the number of workdays required to pay off federal taxes comes in at 105, or about 29% of Americans’ income. That’s actually five days less than last year, thanks in large part to the Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, though it’s still longer than all but about a dozen years in American history. That’s an awful lot of time worked to pay taxes, and yet it still won’t cover the federal government’s actual spending.

As The Daily Signal’s Rachel Greszler notes, “As high as $5.42 trillion or about $34,600 per worker is, it’s not enough to actually pay for what the government spends. To also cover the federal government’s estimated $897 billion deficit for fiscal 2019, Americans would actually have to work until May 8. That’s 22 days longer.” She adds, “If workers actually had to pay for the full cost of government, the average tax bill would be about $5,700 higher, at about $40,300 per worker.”

The shocking reality is that taxes, by far, are Americans’ largest expense. “Americans spend more on taxes than they do on food, clothing, and housing combined,” Greszler observes.

However, unless Washington seriously cuts its spending soon, Americans will only see Tax Freedom Day coming later and later each year.