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Lax taxes a benefit of the South
Published April 4, 2007
Have any idea how many days you have to work to pay off your taxes here in Georgia?
The answer is: not as long as folks who live in places like Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
The latest study from the Tax Foundation, a non-profit organization that has monitored the country’s tax policies and their impact on the average citizen since 1937, has found Georgia ranks 31st in the nation in terms of tax burden this year.
As a result, Tax Freedom Day, the last day a taxpayer has to work before having his or her tax bill for the year covered, will come April 22 in Georgia, nearly a full month before Tax Freedom Day in other states with higher taxes and eight days before the national Tax Freedom Day.
According to the foundation, Tax Freedom Day is calculated by dividing the official government tally of all taxes collected in each year by the official government tally of all income earned in each year. This percentage — which includes federal, state and local taxes — is categorized as “the nation’s total tax burden.” The foundation then uses historical trends and the most recent economic data to project what the tax burden will be in the current year.
According to the foundation, average Americans work longer to pay their federal tax burden than any other major expense: a total of 79 days. Housing and household operations take 62 days in the year to pay off. Health and medical care costs come to 52 days. State and local taxes are fourth in ranking at 41 days. Food costs and transportation costs tie, each taking 30 days in the course of a year to pay off. Recreation is next with 22 days, clothing and accessories takes 13 days to pay off and all other expenses come to around 36 days.
When you add them together, you are spending literally twice as long (120 days) to pay your taxes than you are to pay for your food and transportation (60 days). Seems a little upside down, doesn’t it?
The earliest state Tax Freedom Day, meaning the states with the lowest tax burden, belong to Oklahoma and Alabama, which celebrate Tax Freedom Day on April 12. The latest Tax Freedom Day, and thus the heaviest tax burden, belongs to Connecticut, which has a May 20 Tax Freedom Day.
Bottom line: the weather isn’t the only thing better in the South — the tax burden is too.
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