Tax Freedom Day Earliest Since 1967

Washington (April 9, 2004) -- Tax Freedom Day -- the day when Americans have earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year -- falls on April 11 this year, the earliest in 37 years, according to the Tax Foundation.

April 11 is three days earlier than 2003's Tax Freedom Day of April 14 and 21 days earlier than in 2000, when the boom and bubble pushed the release from tax burdens to a record of May 2.

In 2004, Americans will work 65 days to afford their federal taxes and 36 more days to afford state and local taxes.

In order to calculate the date, the Tax Foundation says every dollar that's officially called income by the government is counted, and every payment to the government that is officially considered a tax is counted. Taxes at all levels of government -- federal, state and local -- are included.

The tax burden borne by different states varies considerably.  Highest among the 50 states is Connecticut, where Tax Freedom Day is April 28.  New York and Washington D.C. are next at April 27.  At the other end, Alaska's Tax Freedom Day is the earliest at March 26, with Alabama next at April 1.

-- WebCPA staff

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