It’s that time again to sit up a bit straighter and let your entrepreneurial spirit work for you, instead of government healthcare plans or reelection-addicted politicians. April 9th is the Tax Foundation’s 2010 Tax Freedom Day, which “calculates the day on which Americans will have earned enough money to pay this year’s tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels.” The experts and economists at the Tax Foundation produce a report every year detailing your tax situation, curtailed to your tax climate.
And the Winners are… (with their Tax Freedom Day dates and number of days to reach tax freedom)
- Alaska - March 26 - 85 days
- Louisiana - March 26 - 85 days
- Mississippi - March 28 - 87 days
- South Dakota - March 29 - 88 days
- West Virginia - March 30 - 89 days
And the Losers are…
- Connecticut - April 27 - 117 days
- New Jersey - April 25 - 115 days
- New York - April 23 - 113 days
- Maryland - April 19 - 109 days
- Washington - April 15 - 105 days
2010’s state average is 99 days (or about 27% of our income) – one day later than 2009, but don’t think taxpayers are getting a good return on their investment. The Tax Foundation staff notes these rankings do not include the recently passed healthcare reform bills but estimate the increased taxes and fees delay each state another 2 or 3 days. More importantly, with the Bush tax cuts likely to lapse at the end of 2010, the increased taxes will add 5 or 6 more tax burden days on all states. Also, the calculations include yearly deficits but not the accumulated debt.