Tax Day Facts
While we're busy watching session close and trying to make sure we've sent in all the forms to all the various taxing governments, we'll take it easy and give you some tax facts for tax day.
- The top 10% of earners paid 71% of all income taxes
- The three largest refundable tax credits will pay non-taxpayers $114 billion today.
- Tax freedom day is April 9th, but to actually pay the $1.3 trillion deficit would require working until May 17th.
- According to the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), in fiscal year 2009, the IRS estimated that individual and business taxpayers spent 7.75 billion hours complying with the tax laws. That is the equivalent of 3.7 million employees working 40-hour weeks year-round without any vacation.
- Using the most recently reported average employer cost for civilian workers by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of $29.18 per hour, this time is worth an incredible $110.6 billion.
- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reported that individuals spent an estimated $29.33 billion in 2009 for tax software, tax preparers, postage, and other out-of-pocket costs related to filing their federal income tax--that is almost twice the size of Honduras's economy.
- The IRS's National Taxpayer Advocate estimates that taxpayers spend $193 billion each year to comply with income tax requirements. This amounts to 14% of aggregate income tax receipts.
- The IRS was appropriated $11.6 billion in FY 2010. To put this figure in perspective, it is more than the amount Congress appropriated for missile defense programs.
