(CNSNews.com) - Americans spent more on taxes in 2020 than they did on food, clothing, healthcare and entertainment combined, according to newly released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
American “consumer units,” as BLS calls them, spent a net total of $17,211.12 on taxes last year while spending only $16,839.89 on food, clothing, healthcare and entertainment combined, according to Table R-1 of the BLS Consumer Expenditures Survey.
“Consumer units,” BLS explains, “include families, single persons living alone or sharing a household with others but who are financially independent, or two or more persons living together who share major expenses.”
In 2020, according to Table R-1, American consumer units paid an average of $8,811.78 in federal income taxes, while getting back $1,911.01 in stimulus payments. They also paid an average $2,492.71 in state and local income taxes; $5,392.35 in Social Security taxes; $2,353.42 in property taxes; and $71.87 in “other taxes.”
That equaled a net total of $17,211.12 in taxes.
At the same time, American consumer units were paying an average $7,316,47 for food; $1,434.26 for “apparel and services” (clothing); $5,177.01 for healthcare and $2,912.15 for entertainment.
That equaled $16,839.89.
In other words, Americans on average paid government $371.23 more in 2020 than they paid for food, clothing, healthcare and entertainment combined.