Tax Freedom Day arrives in R.I. on April 26

THE TAX FOUNDATION RELEASED information on Monday detailing when Tax Freedom Days arrive in each state - it is the day on which residents of that state collectively worked long enough to pay all tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels. Rhode Island's Tax Freedom Day is April 26. / COURTESY TAX FOUNDATION
THE TAX FOUNDATION RELEASED information on Monday detailing when Tax Freedom Days arrive in each state - it is the day on which residents of that state collectively worked long enough to pay all tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels. Rhode Island's Tax Freedom Day is April 26. / COURTESY TAX FOUNDATION

PROVIDENCE – Tax Freedom Day in Rhode Island will fall on April 26, two days after National Tax Freedom Day, representing the day when taxpayers in the state have collectively earned enough money to pay their federal, state and local tax bill for the year.
On that day, Rhode Island will be the 39th state to reach Tax Freedom Day in 2015, according to the annual report by the Tax Foundation.
According to the Tax Foundation, the total tax burden borne by residents of different states varies considerably “due to differing state tax policies and the progressivity of the federal tax system.”
As a result, higher-income and higher-tax states celebrate Tax Freedom Day later: Connecticut and New Jersey, May 13, and New York, May 8.
Louisiana residents bear the lowest average tax burden in 2015, so their Tax Freedom Day arrived on April 2. Also early were Mississippi on April 4 and South Dakota, April 8.
In 2014 and 2013, Rhode Island celebrated Tax Freedom Day on April 23 and April 19, respectively, becoming the 39th state both years to reach Tax Freedom Day.
“Tax Freedom Day gives us a vivid representation of how much we pay for the goods and services provided by governments at all levels,” Tax Foundation Economist Kyle Pomerleau said in a statement. “Arguments can be made for if and why the tax bill is too high or too low, but in order to have an honest discussion, it’s important for taxpayers to understand cost of government. Tax Freedom Day helps people relate to that cost.”
The report said that this year, Americans will work the longest to pay federal, state and local individual income taxes (43 days). Payroll taxes will take 26 days to pay, followed by sales and excise taxes (15 days), corporate income taxes (12 days) and property taxes (11 days). The remaining seven days are spent paying estate and inheritance taxes, customs duties and other taxes. The total of 114 days places National Tax Freedom Day at April 24.

The study found that National Tax Freedom Day is one day later than last year mostly due to the country’s continued steady economic growth, which is expected to boost tax revenue especially from the corporate, payroll and individual income tax.
It also found that Americans will collectively spend more on taxes in 2015 than they will on food, clothing and housing combined, and that Americans will pay $3.3 trillion in federal taxes and $1.5 trillion in state and local taxes, for a total bill of more than $4.8 trillion, or 31.1 percent of the nation’s income.
Including annual federal borrowing, which represents future taxes owed, National Tax Freedom Day would occur 14 days later on May 8, the report said.

No posts to display