Today Is Tax Freedom Day®

Today is the Tax Foundation's Tax Freedom Day® -- the date on which Americans will have worked long enough to have earned enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels. April 23 is the national average -- the Tax Freedom Day® in individual states range from the state with the highest tax burden -- Connecticut (May 8) -- to the state with the lowest tax burden -- Alaska (March 29).

Here are the ten states with the heaviest tax burdens and the latest Tax Freedom Days®:

1. Connecticut (May 8)
2. New Jersey (May 7)
3. New York (May 5)
4. California (April 30)
5. Washington (April 29)
6. Massachusetts (April 28)
7. Maryland (April 28)
8. Minnesota (April 27)
9. Florida (April 26)
10. Hawaii (April 26)

Here are the ten states with the lowest tax burdens and the earliest Tax Freedom Days®:

1. Alaska (March 29)
2. Mississippi (April 7)
3. Montana (April 8)
4. West Virginia (April 8)
5. Alabama (April 9)
6. Kentucky (April 10)
7. Tennessee (April 11)
8. Oklahoma (April 11)
9. New Mexico (April 12)
10. South Dakota (April 12)

Check out the Tax Freedom Day® song:

For a chart showing the Tax Freedom Day® through the years, see below the fold:

For criticism of the Tax Foundation's methodology by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, see Tax Foundation Figures Do Not Represent Typical Households’ Tax Burdens: Figures May Mislead Policymakers, Journalists, and the Public, by Aviva Aron-Dine & Robert Greenstein.