This week’s taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. map takes a look at how long it takes each state to reach Tax Freedom Day® in 2015.
Tax Freedom Day is the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year. Tax Freedom Day takes all federal, state, and local taxes and divides them by the nation’s income. In 2015, Americans will pay $3.28 trillion in federal taxes and $1.57 trillion in state and local taxes, for a total tax bill of $4.85 trillion, or 31 percent of national income. This year, Tax Freedom Day falls on April 24, or 114 days into the year.
While the national date arrives on April 24, the total tax burden borne by residents of different states varies considerably due to differing state tax policies and the progressivity of the federal tax system. This means a combination of higher-income and higher-tax states celebrate Tax Freedom Day later: Connecticut (May 13), New Jersey (May 13), and New York (May 8). Residents of Louisiana will bear the lowest average tax burden in 2015, with Tax Freedom Day arriving for them on April 2. Also early are Mississippi (April 4) and South Dakota (April 8).
Read the full Tax Freedom Day® 2015 report here.
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