Wednesday, April 23rd is Tax Freedom Day® in America. This is the day that we Americans have finished earning enough to pay all our federal, state, and local taxes, and finally begin earning money for ourselves. It took 113 days (not counting Leap Year Day) to do it.
Libertarians hate taxes even more than most other Americans — and the fact that Tax Freedom Day® is three days earlier this year than in 2007 doesn’t change that. Some people may be happy that this year’s Tax Freedom Day® is ten days earlier than the all-time latest date, May 3rd, in 2000, but Libertarians object that all levels of government are still stealing almost 31% of our income.
Before enactment of the 16th Amendment, the average American paid less than 6% of his income in taxes. Tax Freedom Day® was January 22nd in 1900, but by 1920 — after the creation of the modern income tax — it had jumped to February 13th. Although it has bounced around from year to year, the inexorable trend is later and later in the year. Tax Freedom Day® has not been earlier than April 16th since 1967!
Americans spent 74 days this year just to pay their federal taxes — the single largest category in the typical family’s budget. Americans need more time to pay their total federal/state/local tax burden than it takes to pay for housing and health care combined (just 110 days).
The Tax Foundation of Washington DC, owner of the trademark and concept of Tax Freedom Day®, drills down even further. The average American works 32 days to pay the federal income tax, and another ten days for state income tax. Social Security takes 28 days. At the local level, we work longest to pay state sales and excise taxes (14 days) and property taxes (12 days).
The concept of Tax Freedom Day® demonstrates graphically how confiscatory American taxes are. Working 113 days to pay your total tax burden equals government extorting 30.8% of your working life. One definition of slavery is not being allowed to make use of the fruits of your labor. By this definition, Americans are almost 1/3 slave — not one third of all Americans, but ALL Americans are almost 1/3 slave.
Libertarians believe that taxation is theft. Government taxation is the equivalent of an extortion ring, where we pay our taxes in order to keep the state from figuratively breaking our legs and burning our homes. Some people believe the only reason government fights crime is to eliminate the competition.
The Tax Foundation says we in Georgia are marginally better off than the average American; our Tax Freedom Day® fell on April 19th this year. Doesn’t that make you feel rich?
You can examine the Tax Foundation’s complete Tax Freedom Day® report here.
