Texas Residents and Businesses Pay $218-Billion in Federal Taxes

by John Michaelson/TNS

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas residents and businesses paid $218 billion in federal taxes in 2013, according to a new report.

Becky Sweger, director of data and technology for the National Priorities Project, says its “State Smart” research added up the federal taxes paid by residents and businesses in Texas, which worked out to more than $8,200 per capita.

“That represents a total amount paid into the treasury of about $218 billion,” she said.

Sweger said most of those federal taxes coming out of Texas were paid by or on behalf of individuals in the form of income taxes, self-employment taxes and payroll taxes.

The analysis also looked at how much is received in Texas from the federal budget over the course of a year. Sweger said that total was about $237 billion.

“Texas, most of their money that comes into the state from the federal government is aid to individuals and same programs,” she said, “the big ones, Social Security and Medicare.”

In addition to the direct aid to individuals, the calculation for the inflow from the federal budget in Texas includes federal grants and contracts to business and governments, plus the salaries of the federal employees in the state.

The data is online at nationalpriorities.org/smart.