It’s official, you are now free to keep what you are earning. That’s because Americans reached Tax Freedom Day on April 17, 2012. Don’t you feel better knowing that it only took you 4 ½ months to pay your tax obligations to Uncle Sam? According the Tax foundation, it took 4 days longer this year to reach Tax Freedom Day than in 2011. As you can see from the chart, Americans now have to work twice as long as they did in the 1930’s to fulfill our obligations to the US Treasury.
Here are a couple of additional tax tidbits from The Tax Foundation:
- Americans will spend more in taxes in 2012 than they will on food clothing and housing COMBINED.
- Since all taxes on business are ultimately pass on to individuals in the form of higher prices, lower wages or employment levels, You will have to work 11 days to pay your share of those corporate income taxes.
- After 4 years of federal budget deficits of in excess of $1 trillion dollars, Deficit-inclusive Tax Freedom Day arrives on the sixth latest day, May 24, 2012.
- Residents of Tennessee will bear the lowest average tax burden in 2012, with Tax Freedom Day arriving for them on March 31.