According to the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s new data on consumer expenditures, Americans spent more on Taxes in 2017 than Food and Clothes combined.
“Consumer units†(which include families, financially independent individuals, and people living in a single household who share expenses) spent an average of $9,562 on food and clothing in 2017, according to BLS.
But they spent $16,749 on federal, state and local taxes.
The average 2017 tax bill included $7,819 in federal income taxes; $2,098 in state and local income taxes; and $51 in other taxes—which the BLS rounded to a subtotal of $9,967.
It also included $4,717 in Social Security taxes; and $2,065 in property taxes—bringing the total average tax bill for the year to $16,749.
This is what a consumer unit is according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“A consumer unit,†BLS says, “is defined as either (1) all members of a particular household who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangements; (2) a person living alone or sharing a household with others or living as a roomer in a private home or lodging house or in permanent living quarters in a hotel or motel, but who is financially independent; or (3) two or more persons living together who pool their income to make joint expenditure decisions.â€
This is more proof of why we need to lower taxes at the state and federal level. The American people should be earning money to spend on themselves, not to shell out to the government. If Democrats want to help the disenfranchised, as they say, they do, let’s start by giving taxpayers another tax cut at the Federal Level and then begin the process at the state level as well.
