Break out the tricorn hats and the Lipton tea bags.
With a William Wallace-style cry of "Freedom!" millions of tax payers will today reach a milestone far more pleasant than April 15, although it also involves taxes.
Tax Freedom Day arrived Thursday, the 108th day of 2013, according to the Tax Foundation's annual calculation. The—ahem—"nonpartisan" research organization reports Americans will work well over three and a half months, handing over about 29% of their income, before they have earned enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels. Both higher federal taxes and rebounding incomes contributed to this year's date, which it notes is five days later than in 2012.
In the new Tax Foundation study, "Tax Freedom Day 2013," economists William McBride, Ph.D.; Elizabeth Malm; and Kyle Pomerleau also calculate how long Americans would have to work in order to close the federal budget deficit. In order to pay for all spending in the current year, the government would need to raise an additional $833 billion in taxes, pushing Tax Freedom Day to May 9.
"This year, Americans will work five days later than in 2012 to pay all of their taxes. The total tax bill at all levels comes to approximately $4.2 trillion, or 29.4% of their total income," McBride said in a statement. "That means Americans will pay more in taxes in 2013 than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined."
