Today Is Tax Freedom Day

April 23 of 2008 is Tax Freedom Day. This means that it took Americans about four months of work to make enough money to pay their tax obligations (federal, state & local) for the year. We achieved freedom three days earlier than last year due to the economic slow down and the stimulus package.

From the report: 'Americans will work longer to pay for government (113 days) than they will for food, clothing and housing combined (108 days). In fact, Americans will work longer to afford federal taxes alone (74 days) than they will to afford housing (60 days). As a group, Americans will also work longer to pay state and local taxes than they will to pay for food.'

If the fact of having to work so long to pay taxes makes you mad then move to Mississippi, which reached freedom on April 7th. They have a combination of low personal income and low tax rates. Due to the progressive nature of the tax law, the more money you make the more you are taxed. The states with the longest wait for freedom are New York (May 5), New Jersey (May 7),and Connecticut (May8). These states have some of the highest personal incomes in the US, along with high state and local taxes.

Source:
'America Celebrates Tax Freedom Day', by Tax Foundation, taxfoundation.org
'Special Report No 160', by Gerald Prante and Sctoo A Hodge, Tax Foundation