...This year, the day the average American would finally be square with Uncle Sam is April 12, the 102nd day of the year.
The Foundation breaks this down by state, as well. Utahns will be tax free on April 10. While the Beehive State (click here) has the 19th highest tax burden in the nation, it's much closer to Mississippi's earliest-in-the-nation March 26 than Connecticut's latest on May 2.
Overall, the Foundation's news seems to be good. The national Tax Freedom Day is almost two weeks earlier than it was in 2007, and it's much earlier than the record of May 1 in 2000. But the date alone doesn't tell the story. We pay less of our income in taxes than in '07 mainly because, on average, we have less income.
The federal tax deficit, meanwhile, looms over our April 12 picnic like a vicious thunderstorm.
The Tax Foundation understands this, which is why it also provides a date for how long we would have to work to pay for the $1.45 trillion deficit, as well. That date is May 23....
