Start keeping what you earn April 5

Texans Experience “Tax Freedom” on April 5

AUSTIN – Texas pay off their taxes earlier than the average U.S. taxpayer. U.S. citizens will have to work until April 9 this year to pay for the cost of government. It was April 8 last year. Thanks to the limited-government, low-tax policies of Texas’ elected leadership, Texans will begin working for themselves – and not the federal government – four days earlier, on April 5.

Tax Freedom Day refers to the number of days that taxpayers work before they pay off the state, federal and local taxes. The average American must work 99 days to pay these taxes. Nationally, Texas has the 8th lowest tax burden as a percentage of income.

“Most workers are astounded to learn that they are working more than 3 months to pay taxes, and only after that begin earning money they can spend freely,” said Peggy Venable, AFP State Director. “This is a reminder to voters that there is no such thing as government money. Every dollar government spends comes from the pocket of a hard-working American and is one less dollar that we can spend at their own discretion.”

The tax burden amounts to more than the average taxpayer pays for food, clothing and shelter, according to the national group Tax Foundation. This amount does not include the federal debt.

According to Tax Foundation, Americans have the biggest federal deficits since World War II. To eliminate the deficit, all income tax rates would need to go up 244%.

If taxes at the federal level were increased to pay for all government, tax freedom would fall on May 17 – resulting in 38 more days of work to pay the additional taxes. This does NOT include the recent taxes just passed in the Health Care legislation. That should add 2-3 days to tax freedom day.

“We are burdening future generations with this enormous debt,” Venable said. “We are leaving our children a legacy of debt, and that is not the legacy most of us want to leave. We must stop the overspending and debt accumulation so that our children and grandchildren can have opportunity to experience the American dream of home ownership and financial independence.”

(For more information on Tax Freedom Day, see http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxfreedomday.html. The Tax Foundation calculated the national rankings using the latest government data on income and taxes to produce the ratios between the number of days Americans work to pay taxes and the number of days they work to support themselves. National Tax Freedom Day is April 17.)

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Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. AFP has more than 1million members, including members in all 50 states, and 24 state chapters. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org