Wisconsin’s Tax Freedom Day Not Until April 12th

MacIver News Service – 11:00 am Wisconsinites need to work from January 1st through the twelfth of next month, for a total of 102 days, just to pay for the annual taxes assessed by their government.

The Tax Foundation just announced on that Wisconsin’s Tax Freedom Day for 2010 will be  April 12th.  For the nation on average Tax Freedom Day is April 9th. Wisconsin has the 13th latest Tax Freedom Day in the country.

Calculated annually by the Tax Foundation, Tax Freedom Day  determines the day on which taxpayers will have earned enough money to pay this year’s tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels.  

According to the Tax Foundation:

“The shift toward a lower tax burden since 2007 has been driven by three factors: (1) The recession has reduced tax collections even faster than it has reduced income; (2) President Obama and the Congress have enacted large but temporary income tax cuts for 2009 and 2010, just as President Bush did in 2008; and (3) Two significant taxes were repealed for 2010 as part of previous legislation, the estate tax and the so-called PEP and Pease provisions of the income tax.”

The calculation does not include deficit spending, the impact of the national debt, or the recently approved spending and taxes associated with health care reform bill.

The Tax Foundation noted that in general, Tax Freedom Day is coming later this year despite a continued slowdown in the economy and the deficit spending.  Last year’s National Tax Freedom Day was one day earlier, April 8, 2009.

“If Americans were required to pay for all government spending this year, including the $1.3 trillion federal budget deficit, they would be working until May 17 before they had earned enough to pay their taxes—an additional 38 days of work,” the Tax Foundation announced Tuesday.

We will have updates, including local reaction to this announcement, later.

For additional information from the Tax Foundation, click here.