Vision Credit Education, Inc.

Recent headlines have placed the 2009 federal budget deficit at $1.42 trillion. They added that it amounts to some $4,700 per man, woman and child in the U.S. While that is high, understand that every man, woman and child does not pay taxes. As a taxpayer, your share is much higher.

So how do you know how much you are on the hook for as we bail out Wall Street, combat the housing crisis and deal with rampant unemployment? It depends on which figures you use.

When we consider that there were 156.3 million tax filers in 2008, that amounts to just over $9,000 per tax filer. Please note that this figure is double what the number is when dividing by the total U.S. population.

While that sounds like a lot, understand that 2008 was a record year for U.S. tax filings as there were added incentives to file for people who normally do not file a return. Remember the economic stimulus payments? Before the stimulus, there were only 136.1 million tax filers in 2006.

A substantial number of tax filers actually pay no tax. This is due to standard deductions and a slew of tax credits, many of which are refundable. It is a fact that the number of tax filers who owe no tax has been rising rapidly over the last several years, a number that many economists find unsustainable in the long run.

So exactly how many Americans actually pay income taxes? The number of Americans not owing income taxes has been rising rapidly, and according to many could reach even higher numbers over the next couple of years. One of those voices is Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge.

By 2012, if President Obama’s proposals on taxes, health care and climate change become law, families earning up to $109,000 will, as a group, be receiving more in federal spending than they pay in federal tax.

It is important to note that the portion of tax filers who do not owe has been rising rapidly through multiple White House administrations.

A recent CNN Money article states that 47% of households will owe no tax in 2009. That means that an estimated 80 million households will be responsible for the $1.42 trillion budget deficit. That comes out to $17,500 per household that actually pays tax. And yes, this is in addition to what we already owe from previous deficits.

So what does that mean for each of us? It means that we need to understand that promises by the federal government to take care of us in our old age sound good, but we need to prepare for life without government assistance. The expected shortages in Social Security are well known. Therefore it is our responsibility to live below our means, make intelligent purchases, and save and invest for the future.