The Tax Foundation annually calculates “Tax Freedom Day” – which is the day of the year when the nation as a whole has earned enough to pay its total tax bill for the year. For 2018, that day is today.
In 2018, Americans will pay $3.39 trillion in federal taxes and $1.80 trillion in state and local taxes, for a total tax bill of $5.19 trillion, or 30 percent of national income. This year, Tax Freedom Day falls on April 19th, 109 days into 2018.
This figure is a national average. North Carolina’s Tax Freedom Day came a bit earlier, on April 12.
Put differently, the average American needs to work virtually one-third of the year to pay his or her tax bill. The rest of the year, they are ‘free’ to keep the fruits of their labor.
Perhaps the most stunning stat is this:
- Americans will collectively spend more on taxes in 2018 than they will on food, clothing, and housing combined.
Keep these figures in mind when progressives insist that the problem in society is that government doesn’t have enough resources.
