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April 18 marks the 108th day of 2013. It is also Tax Freedom Day, as calculated by the Tax Foundation. Tax Freedom Day is the day that we as a nation have finally earned enough income to pay the tab for all federal, state, and local taxes for the year.
It is hard to believe that we’ve all been working since the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve until today just to pay our taxes, but that is unfortunately the case.
Of course, we actually pay taxes from January 1 through December 31, but often those taxes are hidden from us. Tax Freedom Day gives us a simple way to understand how much of our hard-earned income goes toward paying taxes.
If you think about it in comparison to your typical 8-hour work day that starts at 9:00 a.m., we work until past 11:20 a.m. every workday to pay our tax bill for the year. Think about that when you head to lunch. You’ve just stopped working for the government and are just now working for your family.
Tax Freedom Day falls five days later than last year, when it was April 13. That later date is mostly the result of the 13 tax increases that kicked in at the beginning of the year, which came from the fiscal cliff deal and Obamacare. Those tax increases will ramp up even stronger next year, so Tax Freedom Day 2014 promises to be even later than it is this year.
The growing tax burden, as exemplified by Tax Freedom Day moving later and later, is further proof that Congress has no business raising taxes yet again. There is more than enough revenue coming into Washington. Our deficit and debt problems are caused by too much spending; not too little taxation.
Congress needs to hold the line against President Obama’s and Senate Democrats’ never-ending push to raise taxes. If it does, it can stop Tax Freedom Day from marching later and later into the year. And then if it finally tackles long overdue tax reform, it can make sure it permanently stops advances of Tax Freedom Day. Something we can all celebrate.