According to the Tax Foundation, Americans will have to work the first 107 days of each year solely to pay for taxes. That’s right, it takes all your of your wages for three months to cover your yearly taxes.
Taxes account for 29% of the average American’s income. That’s more than the average family spends on food, clothing and housing combined.
The Tax Foundation says the actual day Americans start keeping the money they earn is around April 17th. They call this day the Tax Freedom Day.
Of course these numbers vary from state to state. States with the lowest taxes reach Tax Freedom Day earlier. Tennessee is the earliest. Tennesseans pay less in taxes, therefore meeting Tax Freedom Day on or around March 31st, while residents in Conneticut will have to work until May 5th before the money they earn is theirs to keep, not the governments.
The record for the latest Tax Freedom Day was in 2000, when Americans paid an average of 33% of their income to taxes.
See where the U.S. ranks in tax percentages:
According to World Wide Tax.com:
China 3-45%
Denmark 38-59%
France 14-45%
Germany 14-45%
Japan 5-50%
Russia 13%
Saudia Arabia 20%
Switzerland 11.5%
U.K. 0-50%
U.S. 15-35%
When there’s a single thief, it’s robbery. When there are a thousand thieves, it’s taxation. ~Vanya Cohen