News & Commentary

The Treasury Department has released figures showing that federal tax revenue exceeded $3 trillion in fiscal year 2014. This is a new record. There was a nearly $247 billion increase in revenue in fiscal year 2014 from 2013. There were two large tax increases passed in that time: the 2013 tax increases to offset the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts, and the tax hikes in the Affordable Care Act. The economy is still bumping along pretty slowly. Even in a slow economy, though, just a little bit of growth will equate to more tax revenue for the federal government...

Something else interesting to think about, if President Obama's budget were enacted, tax revenues as a percentage of GDP would approach the highest tax burden in history in less than 10 years. Take a look at this chart:

Percentage of GDP

(Chart from Heritage.Org)

A growing economy automatically raises more tax revenue. In order to contrast it to previous years, you need to compare revenue to the size of the economy. According to the Treasury Department, tax revenue was 17.5 percent of the economy last year. Extrapolating, this means revenue will likely surpass both averages next year and grow higher each successive year.  

Derived from the article “Obama Tax Hikes Drive Federal Tax Revenue Above $3 Trillion for First Time Ever” Written By Curtis Dubay, Published October 21, 2014 on dailysignal.com