Congratulations, California. The Tax Foundation released its list of when each state celebrates Tax Freedom Day. On average, it’s April 23rd. But not here in the Bronze Golden State. For us, it’s April 30th. What that means is from January 1st to April 30th you’re not really working for yourself; rather, you’ve been working for the government. On average, one-third of Californians income goes towards taxes.
Somehow California doesn’t rank #1. Yes, there are worse states for taxes:
1. Connecticut (May 8th)
2. New Jersey (May 7th)
3. New York (May 5th)
3A. District of Columbia (May 3rd)
4. California (April 30th)
5. Washington (April 29th)
6. Massachusetts (April 28th)
7. Maryland (April 28th)
8. Minnesota (April 27th)
9. Florida (April 26th)
10. Hawaii (April 26th)
There are a couple of surprises on this list: Florida and Washington, states without an income tax. The Tax Foundation looked at all taxes, including sales tax, property tax, and Washington state’s business tax.
There are some states where you’re almost working for yourself. Here are the top ten states in tax freedom:
50. Alaska (March 29th)
49. Mississippi (April 7th)
48. Montana (April 8th)
47. West Virginia (April 8th)
46. Alabama (April 9th)
45. Kentucky (April 10th)
44. Tennessee (April 11th)
43. Oklahoma (April 11th)
42. New Mexico (April 12th)
41. South Dakota (April 12th)
The press release for the Tax Foundation study is here. The only good news that I can see in the study is that Tax Freedom Day does come three days earlier in 2008 than in 2007…except in California.