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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

Original post:
Ron Paul Statement on Tax Freedom Day

By Austin Robertson

CREATED Apr. 5, 2011

(AP) - Residents in St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo. overwhelmingly agreed Tuesday to retain their 1% earnings taxes, passing on a significant tax cut but keeping a revenue source that provides a huge chunk of the budget in both of Missouri's big cities.

Complete but unofficial results show the St. Louis earnings tax passed with 88 percent of the vote, while Kansas City residents favored the tax by a 3-to-1 margin.

The votes were necessary after a statewide ballot proposition that passed in November required a renewal vote every five years on the earnings taxes in both cities. Proposition A also forbids any other Missouri municipality from adopting an earnings tax.

The tax accounts for $140 million, or about one-third, of the St. Louis budget, and $200 million, about two-fifths, of Kansas City's.

"I was confident that the people of St. Louis would do the right thing for the future of the city if they were armed with the facts," St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said. "Regardless of what anyone thought of the earnings tax, it would have been irresponsible to get rid of it without a viable alternative to replace it."

There was no organized opposition in St. Louis.

In Kansas City, Mayor-elect Sly James said it was clear the city's residents recognized the importance of the tax.

"It means that this city is going to continue to try and become as efficient as possible, but we're not going to have to do it with one hand tied behind our backs," he said.

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Voters in St. Louis, KC Agree to Keep Earnings Tax

Lessons of the Lenten season: Emulate Jesus in the struggle for freedom (Media Statement) Saturday, March 31, 2012 03:16:15 PM

THE CHRISTIANS for National Liberation-National Democratic Front of Southern Mindanao exhorts the Filipino faithful to find true meaning in the Lenten Season by reflecting on the significance of the life and martyred death of Jesus as reminiscent in the present suffering of the Filipino people. The Communist Party of the Philippines is right in refusing to declare a Lenten truce with the US-Aquino regime -- a regime that has resurrected the fascist, merciless and oppressive Roman Empire of the olden slave times.

For the pain and suffering of the Jews from the hands of the greedy and oppressive Roman state is never been more present in the suffering of Filipinos from the caprice of oil cartel, indebtedness and tax burden of the US-Aquino regime. In Jesus time, tax collectors were the most hated sectors of the slave society. The US-Aquino regime is just as ruthless in ignoring the outrageous overpricing and increases in oil prices and basic commodities, in lifting the hated 12% Value-Added Tax, in giving in to the demands of peasants for land distribution, as in the case of the Hacienda Luisita peasants, and in acquiescing to the demands of workers for an increase in wages and relief from the rapacious imperialist globalization.

Any discerning Christian can see through the falsehood of the Aquino regime which has continued the war of suppression in the countryside, against civilians, and lowly peasants under the Oplan Bayanihan. The modern-day slavery of Filipino people is made more treacherous as the Aquino regime refuses to free the captives, the political detainees and shuns peace talks and the implementation of previous agreements borne out of the peace negotiations.

Indeed, the Lenten season should be an occasion to emulate the life of Jesus for he was the embodiment of righteousness, justice, and peace. Jesus' Messiaship was demonstrated through his deeds, his sacrifice, and his revolutionary resistance to the evils of the Roman Empire.

In his ministry, he spurned the false sacrifices peddled by the rich in the churches, condemned the temple tax and other mercenary schemes of the church to squeeze off from penniless faithful Jews. After his baptism, he went into fasting for 40 days, foreseeing his martyrdom. In his mission statement as written in Luke 4:18-19, he declared his commitment to the poor and taught the people to call for the total liberation, freedom from captivity, captivity from the fascist machinations of the Roman empire, enslavement from indebtedness, enslavement from domination of the Roman ruling class of slave masters. He proclaimed a Jubilee year, a Year of the Lord, where all slaves will be freed, where debts are to be written off, and a return of the mortgaged lands.

For his political beliefs and self-less ministry, Jesus was falsely charged with rebellion, tried in the face of the hypocritical mob of the Sanhedrin and Pharisees, abandoned by a reactionary governor, detained, tortured, and murdered. His death was meant to silence the growing discontent and squash the growing clamor for change and liberation from the clutches of Roman imperialism.

The Holy Week is more than the commemoration of the Paschal mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, but a reliving of the struggles of Christ in opposing the greedy and oppressive schemes of those who are in power. It highlights the suffering of those who dared to raise the voice, combat the injustice and who devoted their lives in the self-less service of the people. Jesus death was a consequence of his fight in the struggle for justice and emancipation. To the faithful, to the disciples and apostles, he had said those who wish to come after me must take up the cross and follow me.

The killing of Jesus is reminiscent in the extra-judicial killing of the victims of Oplan Bayanihan like that of Fr. Fausto Pops Tentorio. Like Jesus, Fr. Tentorio, left the comforts of his home country, took up the cross, and carried the burden of the peasants and Lumads in Arakan. He was killed in the hands of a reactionary and fascist state intolerant of dissent and struggle. Exacting retribution for his martyrdom and the deaths of countless others remains a persistent echo in this Season of Lent in the hearts of the revolutionary forces and the masses.

Christians for National Liberation National Democratic Front of the Philippines-Southern Mindanao. ndfp.smr@gmail.com

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Lessons of the Lenten season: Emulate Jesus in the struggle for freedom (Media Statement) Saturday, March 31, 2012 03 ...