Monday is tax freedom day

Tax Freedom Day is apparently the brainchild of the Tax Foundation.  They define it (in an article on their web site) as “the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year.”  The calculation is simple: divide the total of federal and state taxes by the total of all income, then take the same percentage of the number of days in the year. 

The Tax Foundation says that in 2014 Americans will pay $4.5 trillion in taxes, which is 30.2% of total income.  30.2% of 365 is 110.23, so as of Monday, the 111th day of the year, we have earned enough money, collectively, to pay that $4.5 trillion.  And the year isn’t even (quite) 1/3 of the way over yet!