WTVO/WQRF-TV -- Today, Monday, April 21st is 'Tax Freedom Day' ... unless you live in Illinois. Taxpayers here will have to wait another full week longer than the rest of the nation until they have collectively earned enough income to pay off their total federal, state, and local tax bill. That puts Illinois among the latest in the nation to reach 'tax freedom' and last in the midwest. New Jersey (May 9), Connecticut (May 9), and New York (May 4) will be the last to arrive at their 'Tax Freedom Day.'

According to the non-partisan Tax Foundation, Americans will pay $3 trillion in federal taxes and $1.5 trillion in state and local taxes, for a total bill of more than $4.5 trillion, or 30.2 percent of the nations income. They will spend 42 days working to pay off income taxes, 15 days for excise taxes, and 11 days for property taxes. If you include annual federal borrowing, which represents future taxes owed, Tax Freedom Day would occur on May 6, 15 days later.

Arguments can be made for why the collective tax bill is too high or too low, but in order to have an honest discussion, its important to understand where we stand, said Tax Foundation Economist Kyle Pomerleau. Tax Freedom Day gives us a vivid representation of how much we pay for the goods and services provided by governments at all levels.

Historically, the date for Tax Freedom Day has fluctuated significantly. The earliest national Tax Freedom Day was in 1900 when Americans paid only 5.9% of their income in taxes, meaning the date came on January 22. A century later, the latest Tax Freedom Day was May 1, 2000-which means Americans paid 33.0% of their total income in taxes. Perhaps not coincidentally, that was also the last year the federal government ran a budget surplus.

Click on http://taxfoundation.org for a full breakdown.

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Happy Tax Freedom Day ... Unless You Live in Illinois