Commentary: Tax Freedom Day comes too late
By Gretchen Hamel
Just how long do you have to work this year to meet your tax obligations to federal, state and local government?
It takes Americans an average of more than 100 days to achieve "tax freedom." This year, Tax Freedom Day in Michigan landed on April 14. That's according to the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank.
You will not be surprised to learn that Tax Freedom Day, over time, falls later and later on the calendar. In 1930, Americans earned their tax freedom as early as Feb. 12; since then, the date has crept deeper and deeper into March and April, and, in at least one year (2000), as late as May 1. (In recent years, Tax Freedom Day has shifted a few days or weeks earlier or later, depending on broader economic circumstances.)
If you found this material useful, please consider making a donation to the Tax Foundation.Donate
Ahead of the Senate hearing on “Offshore Profit Shifting and the U.S. Tax Code,” I released a report reminding us that contrary to the perception created by these types of political spectacles, corporations pay a...
In a hearing where Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) deemed Apple’s tax planning “the Holy Grail of tax avoidance,” Apple CEO Tim Cook’s appearance before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations resulted in a show...