What Happened to the Record Income Taxes Americans Paid Last Year?

[Peter1469]

What Happened to the Record Income Taxes Americans Paid Last Year?

I have said it here before- 2019 saw record high federal income tax revenue (after setting the record in 2018). Yes, the highest ever collected. After a tax cut too. But what happened to that money? Congress spent it and over a $T in addition to that record tax haul.

Back in fiscal 2019, which ended last September before COVID-19 hit, the federal government set two records.

It collected more money in individual income taxes than in any previous year — and then spent more.


Did the Americans who paid that record sum in income taxes get their money's worth?


Or were they ripped off?


Let's start with the basic fiscal facts. In fiscal 2019, the federal government collected $1,717,857,000,000 in individual income taxes, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement for September 2019.


Even when adjusted for inflation, that was the most in individual income taxes the federal government had ever collected. It edged out fiscal 2018, when the government collected a then-record $1,683,537,000,000 (or $1,712, 347,440,000 in constant September 2019 dollars) in individual income taxes.


Of course, the federal government imposed more than just individual income taxes on American taxpayers in fiscal 2019. It also collected $1,243,087,000,000 in social insurance and retirement taxes; $230,245,000,000 in corporation income taxes; $98,915,000,000 in excise taxes; $70,784,000,000 in customs duties; $16,672,000,000 in estate and gift taxes; and $84,637,000,000 in other miscellaneous taxes.


All this added up to $3,462,196,000,000 in total tax collections, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement.


But that $3.46 trillion in taxes was not enough for the federal government.


In fiscal 2019, you see, it spent a record $4,446,584,000,000.


Before fiscal 2019, the most the government had ever spent in a fiscal year was in 2009. That was the year Congress enacted the Troubled Asset Relief Program to bail out banks and President Barack Obama's stimulus, theoretically aimed at propelling America out of the recession that ended that June.

[DGUtley]

It is disgusting. We need to go on an austerity budget.

[Captdon]

It is disgusting. We need to go on an austerity budget.

This is a disaster:
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wire...llion-71757398

[Lummy]

But where else can an elected government of mostly democrats boast about robbing its citizens, then get reelected?

Don't say that makes no sense -- they've been doing that for years.

[MMC]

We need to quit bailing out Demo cities and states. Quite giving money to other countries and cut all Demo Pet Projects.

[Hoosier8]

The CBO determined that spending would start rising by 2015 and it did. Driven by mandatory spending which are entitlements. Democrats have already promised that they will not touch entitlements so expect the spending increases to continue.