The Tax Foundation announced today that Tax Freedom Day — the date on which Americans will have worked long enough to have earned
enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state
and local levels — will be April 13 this year:
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. …
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). Figure 1 below shows Tax Freedom Day as traditionally presented and with the inclusion of the federal budget deficit, since 1967 (click to enlarge).
April 13 is the national average — Tax Freedom Day in individual
states range from the state with the highest tax burden — Connecticut
(April 30) — to the state with the lowest tax burden — Alaska (March
23).
Here are the ten states with the heaviest tax burdens and the latest Tax Freedom Days:
- Connecticut April 30)
- New Jersey (April 29)
- New York (April 25)
- California (April 20)
- Maryland (April 19)
- Virginia (April 16)
- Massachusetts (April 16)
- Washington (April 16)
- Minnesota (April 15)
- Rhode island (April 14)
Here are the ten states with the lowest tax burdens and the earliest Tax Freedom Days:
- Alaska (March 23)
- Louisiana (March 28)
- Mississippi (March 28)
- South Dakota (March 29)
- North Dakota (April 1)
- West Virginia (April 1)
- Alabama (April 2)
- New Mexico (April 2)
- Montana (April 3)
- Kentucky (April 3)
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities criticizes the Tax Foundation's methodology here.
