In this Q&A, Joseph Henchman of the Tax Foundation talks with Mitch Kokai about the incredible tax burden being shouldered by the American taxpayer. When the deficit is factored in, we’re working into late May just to pay the tax and debt bill. Here’s a sample:
Henchman: In recent years, yes. And one of the reasons we include the deficit-inclusive day, which this year is May 23, is because we’re doing a lot of spending that’s not being paid for through taxes. We’re borrowing that money, and we’re going to have to pay it back at some point in the future. So, yes, while you’ve earned enough to pay all the taxes by April 6 in North Carolina and April 12 nationally, that’s not enough to pay for all the spending that we’re doing. So that’s one of the reasons that we included that deficit-inclusive date, and we have in recent years. And if we took that date, May 23, I mean, that is, I think, the latest ever — aside from perhaps during World War II, when we did a lot of borrowing to help defeat the Axis powers.
