It’s April 15 and you take a deep breath. You e-filed or mailed your federal (and possibly state) income tax return. “It’s over,” you think to yourself… “at least until next year.”
SURPRISE!
It’s not over.
That’s because you still have to work five and a half more days to earn enough money to pay all of your taxes for this year. Although you’ve filed your federal (and possibly state) income tax returns, you’re still working for the government for another five and a half more days, this year, to earn enough money to pay this year’s taxes.
This is based on detailed calculations undertaken by the Tax Foundation each year, to calculate Tax Freedom Day. That’s the day on which the average U.S. taxpayer has worked long enough to earn enough to pay all of his taxes for the whole year.
This year’s Tax Freedom Day falls on April 21, at 5:31:12 AM.
See the embeddable Tax Freedom Clock, at the top of the right hand column of this page (not displayed on mobile version of this page).
So what this means is that almost a third of the way into the year and after you’ve filed your tax returns for last year, you’re still working to pay this year’s taxes and will continue to do so for around five more days.
This date is actually an average, since different states have different tax rates. Residents of several low-tax states saw Tax Freedom Day pass within the last week or two, while residents of high-tax states, like California, Minnesota, and New York, will have to continue working for the government for at least two more weeks, before they will have earned enough to pay their taxes for this year. But the way Obama is increasing spending and federal debt, it won’t be long before every state will see Tax Day pass, long before they see Tax Freedom Day.
So don’t get too excited about celebrating the passing of Tax Day. Chances are, you’re still working for the government.
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