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If you are among the many people who avoids doing your tax return until the last minute, today is probably one of the most stressful days of the year. (Don't forget to file, or at least request an extension, by midnight tonight.) According to the conservative Tax Foundation, this is also a day for celebration: As of today, April 17, the average American worker has now worked enough in 2012 to pay all of his or her federal, state and local taxes for the year. The group calls the concept Tax Freedom Day, and it comes four days later than it did last year.

Missouri's taxes are lower than average, so Show-Me State residents could have celebrated their tax freedom 10 days ago, on April 7. Illinois residents have to work until April 23 to cover their full tax burden.

Like taxes in general, though, the Tax Freedom Day concept is controversial. The liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out that 80 percent of American households actually pay less than the "average" burden. It also contends that the very idea of tax "freedom" is flawed:

Few Americans would likely feel more free if Tax Freedom Day came earlier in the year because the federal government stopped providing for national security, ensuring homeland security, conducting food safety inspections, or testing prescription drugs.

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Filed your taxes yet? As of today, you've also worked enough to pay them

Tax tab:

$2.62T Americans will pay in federal taxes in 2012

$1.42T Americans will pay in state/local taxes in 2012

29.2% Estimated portion of American income as a whole going to taxes

107 Days of work it takes nation to pay 2012 taxes

110 Days of work it takes California to pay 2012 taxes

Source: National Tax Foundation

Tuesday wasn't just the deadline to pay last year''s taxes.

It also marked national Tax Freedom Day the symbolic date by which the Tax Foundation estimates Americans have made enough money to pay off their taxes for 2012.

This year it took 107 days for Americans to earn enough income to meet their federal, state and local tax obligations, according to the annual report by the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research group. Thats four more days than it took to foot the tax bill in 2011 and represents about 29.2 percent of the nations total income.

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Californians work 110 days to pay tax bill

Published: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 8:01 a.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 8:01 a.m.

If youre a procrastinator, youre keenly aware that Tuesday is the deadline to file your federal income-tax return.

Its also Tax Freedom Day, signifying the number of days this year its 107 the average American must work just to pay off his federal, state and local taxes.

The Tax Foundation, a national nonprofit watchdog group, makes the calculation each year using the latest government data on income and taxes. Put another way, the average American works from Jan. 1 through April 17 just to make enough money to pay his or her tax bill.

In this years report, economist Will McBride also calculated how long Americans would have to work to close the federal governments $1 trillion budget deficit. It would take Americans until May 14 to earn enough money to pay that bill.

This year, Americans will pay $2.62 trillion in federal taxes and $1.42 trillion in state-local taxes out of $13.86 trillion in income, for a 29.2 percent tax bill, McBride said in a news release. That means taxpayers will pay more in taxes in 2012 than they will spend on food, clothing and housing

combined.

But Louisianans do have a bright side to look at. Tax Freedom Day fell on April 1 this year, tied with Mississippi for second-earliest in the country. Only Tennessee, at March 31, was earlier. Residents of places with earlier Tax Freedom Days have lower tax burdens than their peers in other states.

Historically, the date for Tax Freedom Day has fluctuated.

The latest-ever Tax Freedom Day was May 1, 2000 meaning Americans paid 33 percent of their total income in taxes. A century earlier, in 1900, Americans paid only 5.9 percent of their income in taxes, and Tax Freedom Day arrived Jan. 22.

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La. celebrated Tax Freedom Day earlier than most

The conservative Tax Foundation is a Washington, D.C. based think tank with a long history of publishing research studies and comparing state tax policy. The foundation receives funding from big corporations and far-right political groups.

Tax Freedom Day is the foundations point of the year when Americans have earned enough money to pay for taxes. The date is crudely calculated by taking taxes paid in the current year, divided by the nations income for the year.

This year, that day nationally was April 17. The latest the date has fallen was May 1, 2000.

The foundation rates Montanas business tax climate as very favorable, ranking it No. 8 out of the 50 states. The foundation rates Montanas state and local tax burden well below the national average.

Montana still has no statewide sales tax. And plenty of us like it that way.

Montana is one of a handful of states that reasonably weathered the economic meltdown spurred by gamblers on Wall Street. Montana has a growing $400 million budget surplus, thanks to the frugal financial management of Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

Personal income increased over 5 percent from last year, which will boost Montanas budget forecast. But since these forecasts are politically amended by legislators, they are often wrong. Schweitzer simply refers to the more than $341 million of cold hard cash in the bank.

During his tenure as governor, Schweitzer made a practice of cutting taxes. From lowering taxes on energy production, to multiple tax cuts on business equipment, to new property tax credits, to a historic $100 million property tax rebate distributed equally to homeowners.

But instead of finding a permanent property tax fix for homeowners living in high-growth regions, Republicans controlling the 2011 Montana Legislature had another idea. The GOP put onto the primary ballot a referendum that would result in an automatic tax credit when budget revenue reaches 25 percent more than what was politically projected by legislators.

On Legislative Referendum 123, former Republican Montana secretary of state and state Senate president Bob Brown recently wrote that he had participated in five unplanned special sessions of the Legislature.

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Tax Freedom

LAKE JACKSON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Texas Congressman and Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul issued the following statement regarding today being Tax Freedom Day, the day when average Americans finally stop working to pay federal, state, and local taxes.

Below please find comments from Congressman Paul:

Knowing that every penny the average American has earned from January 1st until today has gone to pay federal, state, or local taxes is a frightening reminder of how much liberty modern Americans have lost. Unfortunately, even after Tax Freedom Day, Americans will still suffer from the Federal Reserve's regressive and hidden inflation tax, which erodes their purchasing power for the benefit of big banks and big-spending politicians.

As a Congressman, I have never voted to raise taxes or increase spending, which is why I have consistently been named one of the top 'Taxpayers Best Friends' in Congress by the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union. As President, I will work to reduce the burden of taxes and spending on the American people by passing my Plan to Restore America.

This Plan not only cuts $1 trillion in the first year of my administration and balances the budget by the third year, but it provides much-needed tax relief to the American people. It does this by permanently extending the Bush-era tax rates, lowering the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, allowing American companies to repatriate capital without paying additional taxes, abolishing the death tax, and ending all taxes on personal savings.

My Plan to Restore America also begins to free the American people from the inflation tax by conducting a full audit of the Federal Reserve and legalizing competing currencies. These simple steps will allow the American people to at last learn the truth about how the Fed is working to prop up big banks at the expense of average Americans standard of living and then to take the appropriate actions to protect themselves and their families.

My ultimate goal remains to repeal the 16th Amendment and end the tyranny of the IRS once and for all. Of the four men seeking the presidential nomination of one of the major parties - President Obama, Governor Romney, Speaker Gingrich, and myself - I am the only one who has consistently opposed increases in taxes and spending. I am also the only one who has consistently fought the Federal Reserve's assault on the middle class' standard of living. My campaign to Restore America Now is the clear choice for any American concerned about rolling back taxes, cutting spending, and curbing inflation.

Authorized and paid for by Ron Paul 2012 PCC Inc. http://www.RonPaul2012.com

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Ron Paul Statement on Tax Freedom Day