Source: Truth In Accounting
Latest Data: Government Financial Reports
Frequency: Annual
Contact: Sheila Weinberg, 312-589-5100, sweinberg@truthinaccounting.org

A Taxpayer Burden™ is the approximate dollar amount that would be required of each taxpayer in order to pay off all of a government's liabilities today. It is calculated by dividing the "money needed to pay bills" by the estimated number of taxpayers in the state or city.

Conversely, a Taxpayer Surplus™ is the amount of money left over after all of a government's bills are paid, divided by the estimated number of taxpayers. It is calculated by dividing the "money available to pay bills" by the estimated number of taxpayers in the state or city.

The federal Taxpayer Burden™ is our calculation of the per taxpayer position, based on our calculation of the federal government's net position and dividing it by the number of individual income tax filings, including those without a positive liability because they still pay Social Security and Medicare taxes.