Today is Tax Freedom Day®

The Tax Foundation has announced that today (the 120th day of 2007) is Tax Freedom Day® -- Americans will work four months of the year, from January 1 to April 30, before they have earned enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels.

April 30 is the national average -- the Tax Freedom Day® in individual states range from the state with the highest tax burden -- Connecticut (May 20) -- to the states with the lowest tax burden -- Oklahoma and Alabama (April 12).

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

1. Connecticut (May 20)
2. New York (May 16)
3. New Jersey (May 10)
4. Vermont (May 9)
5. Rhode Island (May 9)
6. Nevada (May 8)
7. California (May 7)
8. Washington (May 6)
9. Massachusetts (May 6)
10. Minnesota (May 4)

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

1. Oklahoma (April 12)
2. Alabama (April 12)
3. Mississippi (April 13)
4. Alaska (April 13)
5. Tennessee (April 15)
6. New Mexico (April 15)
7. Louisiana (April 16)
8. South Dakota (April 16)
9. Texas (April 19)
10. Idaho (April 19)

For criticism of the Tax Foundation's methodology by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, see:

• Tax Foundation Estimates of State and Local Tax Burdens Are Not Reliable, by Nicholas Johnson, Iris J. Lav & Joseph Llobrera
• Tax Foundation Figures Do Not Represent Typical Households’ Tax Burdens: Figures May Mislead Policymakers, Journalists, and the Public, by Robert Greenstein & Aviva Aron-Dine

For the Tax Foundation's response to this criticism, see Analysis of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' Criticism of Tax Freedom Day and State-Local Tax Burdens.