Tax Freedom Day: April 12
According to the Tax Foundation, today marks Tax Freedom Day 2011. This means that Americans have worked over three months, from January 1st to April 12th, before they have earned enough money to solely pay off their total tax bill at the federal, state and local levels. We are required to work 102 days or 28 percent of the year for the government while having the remainder of the year to pay for all our necessities. Tax Freedom Day arrives three days later than it did in 2010. The Tax Foundation notes that the return of the death tax and taxes associated with ObamaCare are largely to blame for Americans working three extra days for the government.
Americans will pay more in taxes this year than they pay on groceries, clothing and shelter combined. It’s important to note that the Tax Freedom Day ignores the current year’s deficit. It only factors in taxes that will be collected in 2011. If the federal government planned on collecting enough taxes this year to finance all of its spending, it would have to collect $1.48 trillion more. Tax Freedom Day would come on May 23 instead of April 12. That means working 143 days or 39 percent of the year to finance all government spending. Due to our record $1.65 trillion deficit, Tax Freedom Day may give a false illusion that government is much smaller than it actually is.
Every state has its own Tax Freedom Day. Residents of different states pay considerably different state and local states.
Earliest Tax Freedom Days:
South Dakota March 30
Louisiana March 30
South Carolina March 29
Tennessee March 27
Mississippi March 26
Latest Tax Freedom Days:
Connecticut May 2
New Jersey April 29
New York April 24
Maryland April 17
Washington April 16
The newly released Census Data reveals that residents are moving away from states with high tax burdens. Our population is moving to low tax states in the south and west. According to the Washington Examiner, “The lesson is that high taxes and strong public employee unions tend to stifle growth and produce a two-tier society like coastal California’s. The eight states with no state income tax grew 18 percent in the last decade. The other states (including the District of Columbia) grew just 8 percent.” Americans are sending a clear message by voting with their feet.
The Tax Foundation pie charts below show how many days the average American works to pay off federal, state and local taxes:
With more ObamaCare taxes phasing in next year, Tax Freedom Day could be delayed even further in 2011. The Tax Foundation reports that extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts reduced our tax burden this year. To ensure that Tax Freedom Day arrives earlier in future years, we must strive to fully repeal ObamaCare and permanently extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to all Americans. In the meantime, let’s celebrate that the average American can now devote the rest of their year to being free to spend or donate their hard-earned money anyway he or she desires.
