Working for the government until April 9

From the non-partisan Tax Foundation:

Tax Freedom Day will arrive on April 9 this year, the 99th day of 2010.

That means Ameri­cans will work well over three months of the year, from January 1 to April 9, before they have earned enough money to pay this year's tax obli­gations at the federal, state and local levels.

Tax Freedom Day arrives a day later in 2010 than it did in 2009, but more than two weeks earlier than in 2007.

This shift toward a lower tax burden since 2007 has been driven by three factors:

* The recession has reduced tax collections even faster than it has reduced income;
* President Obama and the Congress have enacted large but temporary income tax cuts for 2009 and 2010, just as President Bush did in 2008; and
* Two significant taxes were repealed for 2010 as part of previous legislation, the estate tax and the so-called PEP and Pease provisions of the income tax.

Despite all these tax reductions, Americans will pay more taxes in 2010 than they will spend on food, clothing and shelter combined.

• Each state has its own Tax Freedom Day. Alaska's is earliest on March 26, and Connecticut celebrates last on April 27. High-income states pay much more in federal taxes, and they often have higher state-local taxes as well. Joining Connecticut in the latest celebrations are New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Washington. Alaska is joined in early celebration by Louisiana, South Dakota, Mississippi and West Virginia.

Tax Freedom Day for Pennsylvania comes on April 13. Pennsylvania ranks 11th among the states on the list of worst tax burden, according to the Tax Foundation.

Read the full 8-page report at the Tax Foundation Web site.