”
Now my advice for those who die, declare the pennies on your
eyes.
‘Cause I’m the taxman, yeah, I’m the taxman
And you’re working for no one but me.
”
– George Harrison
“Now my advice for those who die, declare the pennies on your eyes.
‘Cause I’m the taxman, yeah, I’m the taxman
And you’re working for no one but me.”
– George Harrison
If, like millions of taxpayers, you waited until the last possible minute to file your state and federal tax returns in order to hold onto your money as long as possible, you’re probably still feeling the annual mid-April fiscal pain that Harrison so eloquently described.
But hold that sigh of relief. You haven’t finished earning the money to cover your 2006 state and federal taxes quite yet. According to the Tax Foundation, on average, Americans will have earned enough income to cover their local, state and federal tax burden on April 26, the date they call “Tax Freedom Day.”
Californians have to work until April 30 to foot the bill. California and Illinois are tied for 9th place on the list of states with the heaviest tax burdens, but pity poor residents of Connecticut who bear the heaviest burden. They won’t celebrate Tax Freedom Day until May 12. Residents of Alabama, with the lightest tax burden of all the states, already celebrated Tax Freedom Day on April 11.
On average, Americans work 77 days to pay their federal taxes and another 34 days to pay their state and local taxes.
The amount of taxes we pay is disturbing enough. But two other factors add insult to the injury of our tax burden. The next factor is government waste and incompetence, which was so dramatically demonstrated by the response to Hurricane Katrina.
The final factor is the complexity of our tax system – all 47,000-plus pages of it – and that’s just the federal tax code. We’ve all spent hours trying to decipher deductions and tax credits and wonder if there’s any sense behind it all besides keeping bureaucrats and tax preparation experts employed.
Many have tried and failed to simplify our tax system. We hope that those efforts, despite being opposed by powerful lobbyists representing the many folks who benefit from the current complexity, will continue.
Reducing the amount of taxes is one important piece of the puzzle. Making sure our tax dollars are efficiently spent is crucial. Reducing complexity is another critical piece. Let’s make our elected officials are working on the whole picture.
If, like millions of taxpayers, you waited until the last possible minute to file your state and federal tax returns in order to hold onto your money as long as possible, you’re probably still feeling the annual mid-April fiscal pain that Harrison so eloquently described.
But hold that sigh of relief. You haven’t finished earning the money to cover your 2006 state and federal taxes quite yet. According to the Tax Foundation, on average, Americans will have earned enough income to cover their local, state and federal tax burden on April 26, the date they call “Tax Freedom Day.”
Californians have to work until April 30 to foot the bill. California and Illinois are tied for ninth place on the list of states with the heaviest tax burdens, but pity poor residents of Connecticut who bear the heaviest burden. They won’t celebrate Tax Freedom Day until May 12. Residents of Alabama, with the lightest tax burden of all the states, already celebrated Tax Freedom Day on April 11.
On average, Americans work 77 days to pay their federal taxes and another 34 days to pay their state and local taxes.
The amount of taxes we pay is disturbing enough. But two other factors add insult to the injury of our tax burden. The next factor is government waste and incompetence, which was so dramatically demonstrated by the response to Hurricane Katrina.
The final factor is the complexity of our tax system – all 47,000-plus pages of it – and that’s just the federal tax code. We’ve all spent hours trying to decipher deductions and tax credits, and wonder if there’s any sense behind it all besides keeping bureaucrats and tax preparation experts employed.
Many have tried and failed to simplify our tax system. We hope that those efforts, despite being opposed by powerful lobbyists representing the many folks who benefit from the current complexity, will continue.
Reducing the amount of taxes is one important piece of the puzzle. Making sure our tax dollars are efficiently spent is crucial. Reducing complexity is another critical piece. Let’s make sure our elected officials are working on the whole picture.
