Tax
Freedom Day
Written
By: The Tax Foundation
Tax Freedom Day
Arrives April 13 in
2009
Tax Freedom Day will arrive on April 13 this
year,
according to the Tax Foundation’s annual calculation using the
latest government data on income and taxes. This is the
earliest in the year that Tax Freedom Day has fallen since
1967.
This is eight days earlier than
in 2008, and a full two weeks earlier than in 2007, for two
reasons: (1) the recession has reduced tax collections even
faster than it has reduced income, and (2) the stimulus package
includes large temporary tax cuts for 2009 and 2010.
Nevertheless, Americans will pay more in taxes than they will
spend on food, clothing and housing combined.
In the study,
Tax Foundation Special
Report No. 165,
“America Celebrates Tax Freedom Day,” Tax Foundation
staff economist Josh Barro traces the course of America’s
tax burden since 1900, examines the composition of
today’s tax burden by type of tax, and finally calculates
a Tax Freedom Day for each state.
Taxes and Federal
Deficit
Tax Freedom Day moves somewhat
independently from an alternative calculation that adds the
federal budget deficit to total taxes collected. In 2009, an
unprecedented budget deficit over $1.5 trillion produces a date
of May 29. This is the latest date in the year this
deficit-inclusive measure has ever fallen. The only previous
years when taxes and deficit spending comprised a similarly
large share of national income were 1944 and 1945, at
the peak of World War II. In the postwar era, this date had never
fallen later than May 9 (in 1992).
Tax Freedom Day by
State
Residents of Alaska will bear the
lowest average tax burden in 2009. Because of their modest
incomes and extremely low state-and-local tax burden, we
estimate Alaska's Tax Freedom Day for 2009 to be March 23.
Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota and West Virginia round
out the five states that we project will experience Tax Freedom
Day earliest in 2009.
The residents of Connecticut will
celebrate last, as usual, working until the 120th day of the
year, from January 1 to April 30, before earning enough to pay
all their taxes. Because Connecticut's income per capita is
higher than in any other state, its residents pay
extraordinarily high federal income taxes. Nearby states New
Jersey and New York are second and third, respectively.
California and Maryland round out the top five.
|
Tax Freedom Day by State,
2009
|
|
State
|
Days Spent Working to Pay
Taxes
|
Tax Freedom Day
|
Rank
|
|
United States
|
103
|
April 13
|
|
|
Alabama
|
92
|
April 2
|
44
|
|
Alaska
|
82
|
March 23
|
50
|
|
Arizona
|
100
|
April 10
|
23
|
|
Arkansas
|
94
|
April 4
|
37
|
|
California
|
110
|
April 20
|
4
|
|
Colorado
|
102
|
April 12
|
16
|
|
Connecticut
|
120
|
April 30
|
1
|
|
Delaware
|
101
|
April 11
|
20
|
|
Florida
|
99
|
April 9
|
27
|
|
Georgia
|
102
|
April 12
|
17
|
|
Hawaii
|
103
|
April 13
|
14
|
|
Idaho
|
102
|
April 12
|
18
|
|
Illinois
|
103
|
April 13
|
15
|
|
Indiana
|
98
|
April 8
|
28
|
|
Iowa
|
94
|
April 4
|
39
|
|
Kansas
|
98
|
April 8
|
30
|
|
Kentucky
|
93
|
April 3
|
41
|
|
Louisiana
|
87
|
March 28
|
49
|
|
Maine
|
96
|
April 6
|
33
|
|
Maryland
|
109
|
April 19
|
5
|
|
Massachusetts
|
106
|
April 16
|
7
|
|
Michigan
|
100
|
April 10
|
24
|
|
Minnesota
|
105
|
April 15
|
9
|
|
Mississippi
|
87
|
March 28
|
48
|
|
Missouri
|
96
|
April 6
|
34
|
|
Montana
|
93
|
April 3
|
42
|
|
Nebraska
|
98
|
April 8
|
31
|
|
Nevada
|
98
|
April 8
|
29
|
|
New Hampshire
|
100
|
April 10
|
22
|
|
New Jersey
|
119
|
April 29
|
2
|
|
New Mexico
|
92
|
April 2
|
43
|
|
New York
|
115
|
April 25
|
3
|
|
North Carolina
|
99
|
April 9
|
25
|
|
North Dakota
|
91
|
April 1
|
46
|
|
Ohio
|
101
|
April 11
|
21
|
|
Oklahoma
|
94
|
April 4
|
40
|
|
Oregon
|
99
|
April 9
|
26
|
|
Pennsylvania
|
104
|
April 14
|
11
|
|
Rhode Island
|
104
|
April 14
|
10
|
|
South Carolina
|
94
|
April 4
|
38
|
|
South Dakota
|
88
|
March 29
|
47
|
|
Tennessee
|
95
|
April 5
|
36
|
|
Texas
|
96
|
April 6
|
32
|
|
Utah
|
103
|
April 13
|
13
|
|
Vermont
|
102
|
April 12
|
19
|
|
Virginia
|
106
|
April 16
|
6
|
|
Washington
|
106
|
April 16
|
8
|
|
West Virginia
|
91
|
April 1
|
45
|
|
Wisconsin
|
103
|
April 13
|
12
|
|
Wyoming
|
95
|
April 5
|
35
|
|
District of Columbia
|
103
|
April 13
|
|
Read the
eight-page Tax Freedom Day Special Report
here
, or for a free hard copy,
send us an
e-mail with your
name and mailing address (street address or PO Box;
please allow two-three weeks for delivery).
Finally, don’t
forget to listen to the Tax Freedom Day
song again this
year.
The song and video were created
as an entertaining, humorous way to explain a serious
concept. The video has been very popular, with almost
30,000 YouTube views so far. It was created last year, and the dates of
past Tax Freedom Days are revised each year due to new
government data and/or methodological changes. Therefore, the
date in the song is no longer correct, but the message is just
as relevant as ever.
Source: www.taxfoundation.org
Want
to know more -Contact
Us
© First
Benefits Group, Inc.
2009
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