2010 Tax Freedom Day for Illinois is April 11

The non-partisan Tax Foundation, Washington D.C., this morning announced this year’s Tax Freedom Day for the nation as a whole, and for individual states. Tax Freedom Day is the day when Americans will finally have earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year.

Tax Freedom Day for Illinois falls on April 11 this year, announced Scott Hodge, the Foundation’s president. For the nation, it falls on April 9, one day later than last year. (Previous years’ dates are updated and recalculated each year.)
Ill. Gov. Patrick Quinn (D) has proposed raising the state personal income tax 33%, and the state corporate income tax from 7.3% to 8.3%. Should these tax increases pass, Illinois’ Tax Freedom Day would be pushed forward appreciably; possibly placing Illinois in the top-ten-highest tax rate states.
The Tax Foundation has been calculating Tax Freedom Day for almost 40 years. The Foundation states that “Tax Freedom Day provides taxpayers with a tax barometer that measures the total tax burden over time and by state.”
The Bush tax increases will have a significant effect on future Tax Freedom Day dates. Bush pushed through temporary tax cuts to help Republicans. The tax cuts, due to expire December 31, 2010, will push Tax Freedom Day 5-6 days forward, adding significantly to the nation’s tax burden.
The concept of Tax Freedom Day was developed in 1948 by Florida businessman Dallas Hostetler, who registered the term in 1953 and later donated the copyright to the Tax Foundation.
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