How Much Has Debt Increased Per Taxpayer Under Obama?

[CG6468]

The $64,000 Question: How Much Has Debt Increased Per Taxpayer Under Obama?
By Terence P. Jeffrey
July 12, 2012

(CNSNews.com) - The national debt has now increased by more than $64,000 per federal taxpayer since Barack Obama was inaugurated president.

At the close of business on Jan. 20, 2009, according to the U.S. Treasury, the total debt of the federal government was $10,626,877,048,913.08. By the close of business on July 10, 2012, that debt had climbed to $15,885,854,755,351.47—an increase of $5,258,977,706,438.39.

In “Statistics of Income—2009 Individual Income Tax Returns,” which was published this year and is the Internal Revenue Service’s most recent statistical report on individual income tax data, the IRS reported that there were 81,890,189 tax returns filed in 2009 that reported taxable income.

If each of these 81,890,189 federal taxpayers were given responsibility for paying off an equal share of the new federal debt added since Obama was inaugurated, they would each need to pay about $64,219.88.

If each of these 81,890,189 federal taxpayers were given responsibility for paying off an equal share of the entire federal debt of $15,885,854,755,351.47, they would each need to pay about $193,989.72

The $64,000 question