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![handle is hein.tera/taxfeaturs0024 and id is 1 raw text is: MONTHLY TAX FEAURES
Volume 24, Number 1, January 1980
Tax Fogndation, nc.
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1875 Connecticut Ave., N.W. (3 Washington, D.C. 20009 , 202-328-4500 0
Federal Debt Soa, cities-Suburbs Taxed Most
. I U /O E1 V;UU
The Federal debt is growing like
Topsy and no end is in sight, accord-
ing to recent analysis by Tax Foun-
dation economists. Moreover, they
say that since World War 11 the
growth of U.S. indebtedness has ac-
celerated with each passing decade.
Duringtthe decade of the thirties
and the era of the Great Depression
Federal debt almost tripled, rising
from $16.8 billion in 1931 to almost
$49 billion in 1941. Deficit financing
of substantial World War II costs fur-
ther quintupled the debt during the
forties, pushing it up to $255.2 bil-
lion by 1951.
Despite long years of prosperity
since the end of the Second World
War, the general course of the debt
has continued upward. In fact, de-
cade by decade, since 1951, the gross
Federalt debt outstanding-the
money actually owed by the U.S. gov-
ernment-has followed a sharply as-
cending trajectory. By the start of the
sixties, that indebtedness had regis-
tered a 14 percent increase over ten
years, for a total of $290.9'billion. The
sixties witnessed a 31 percent jump
in the Federaldebt, and by 1970, the
U.S. owed $382.6 billion.
Most dramatic, however, was the
'huge leap inthe gross debt from 1971
t1o 1980, when it is'expected to reg-
ister an increase of 116 percent or
:,more, according to analysis of pre-
liminary data. The Second Concur-
rent Budget Resolution, approved by
City dwellers and suburbanites
bear a heavier per capita tax burden
than their country cousins, say Tax
Foundation economists. Analyzing
fiscal data for 1977, latest figures
available, they find that residents of
the 266 Standard Metropolitan Sta-
tistical Areas (SMSAs) studied
picked up 79 percent of that year's
total $345.4 billion Federal tax bill.
The ten most populous SMSAs ac-
counted for 27 percent ($94.8 billion)
Billions
of $
1,ooo1
Gross Federal Debt Outstanding
End of Fiscal Year.
Congress in November 1979, estab-
lished a ceiling for the debt of $886.4
billion on September 30, 1980.
:Tax Foundation economists note
that the $476.7.billion increase for
the last decade is larger'than the na-
tion's total indebtedness at the end of
fiscal year 1970.
ATTENTION EDITORS: Monthly Tax Features Isnot copyrighted. Material may be reproduced freely. Pleasecredit Tax Foundation.
$ 886 B ]
of all taxes paid to the Federal gov-
ernment. In descending order, these
areas are: New York, New York-New
Jersey; Los Angeles-Long Beach, Cal-
ifornia; Chicago, Illinois; Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania-New Jersey; De-
troit, Michigan; Boston, Massachu-
setts-New Hampshire; San Fran-
cisco-Oakland, California; Washing-
ton, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia; Nas-
sau-Suffolk, New York; and Dallas-
Forth Worth, Texas.
In 1977, when the per capita Fed-
eral tax burden for the nation as a
whole averaged $1,599, residents in
the SMSAs paid an average of $1,728
per capita. Those domiciled outside
metropolitan areas had a tax bill of
$1,244 per capita, 39 percent lower
than the load carried by residents of
more populous areas. Per capita Fed-
eral taxes nationwide in 1979 were
estimated at $2,053, about 28 percent
higher than in 1977, according to Tax
Foundation economists.
On a per capita basis, the ten most
heavily taxed areas and their respec-
tive tax burdens were as follows:
* Anchorage, Alaska--$2,689
* Bridgeport, Conn.-$2,472
* San Francisco-Oakland, Calif.-
$2,256
* Washington, D.C.-Md.-Va.-
$2,245
* Newark, N.J.-$2,146
* Reno, Nev.-$2,134
* Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y.-'$2,110
* Midland, Tex.-$2,087
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