Here in the States, Tax Freedom Day is a theoretical date that denotes the number of days that the average American must work each year to pay their share of federal, state, and local taxes.
This might be more aptly stated as the day you stop working for the government and start working for yourself. It’s pretty hard to celebrate since the dates keep shifting. I’m also kinda surprised that Hallmark hasn’t cashed in on the concept with a Happy Tax Freedom Day Card. Anyway, here’s a look at how the numbers stack up over the years. All percentages include only Federal and State Taxes. I’m not sure where other taxes such as sales, sin, excise, capital gains, etc, fit in the equation.
In
1900, the total tax was 5.9 % - Tax Freedom Day was January 21st
In
1910, the total tax was 5% - Tax Freedom Day was January 19th
In
1920, the total tax was 11.6% - Tax Freedom Day was February 11th
In
1930, the total tax was 11.1% - Tax Freedom Day was February 10th
In
1940 the total tax was 17.4% - Tax Freedom Day was March 3rd
In
1950, the total tax was 24.4% - Tax Freedom Day was March 30th
In
1960, the total tax was 27.3% - Tax Freedom day was April 8th
In
1970, the total tax was 29.3% - Tax Freedom Day was April 17th
In
1980, the total tax was 30.1% - Tax Freedom Day was April 19th
In
1990, the total tax was 30.3% - Tax Freedom Day was April 20th
In
2000, the total tax was 33.5% - Tax Freedom Day was May 1st
In
2001, the total tax was 33.8% - Tax Freedom Day was May 3rd
Source – The Tax Foundation
A personal note/rant – my government keeps telling me that they are cutting taxes. As most anyone can see, a quick look at the numbers does not seem to bear this out. While its true that the government does provide many more services in 2002 than they did in 1900, I don’t know if the difference between Tax Freedom Days (about 3 ½ months) is enough to make me want to work any harder or longer than I absolutely have to.
I’d like to extend my apologies in advance to noders from around the world who probably have similar circumstances in their own countries. The data’s out there folks, please feel free to add to this write up.