WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Braun has introduced his Taxpayer Receipt Act in order to inform American taxpayers about the United States’ spending, deficits, and national debt. This bill would require the Secretary of the Treasury to print the current federal deficit or surplus and the total federal debt on each individual’s tax return.
“For far too long, many in the federal government have spent like drunken sailors and never asked the question ‘how are we going to pay for it?’ This bill will inform all Americans about the dire state of the nation’s finances and force fiscally irresponsible politicians in D.C. to face the inconvenient truth of out-of-control government spending.â€Â - Senator Mike Braun
BACKGROUND
The Taxpayer Receipt Act would automate a disclosure of federal spending as part Americans annual tax filing. This bill is an easy, effective way to demonstrate to taxpayers our growing problem with the nation’s spending. Annual deficits amount over $1 trillion and the national debt stands at $28 trillion. The COVID pandemic has sent off a $6.1 trillion spending spree without offsets. For FY2020, CBO reported that the federal deficit was $3.1 trillion and the federal debt held by the public was 100% of GDP. For FY2021, CBO projects the federal deficit will be $2.3 trillion and the federal debt held by the public will be 107% of GDP by 2031, the highest in the nation’s history (surpassing even its peak in 1946).
