April 18 was this year’s tax return filing deadline, but how long do Pennsylvanians work to earn enough to pay their total tax bill? In 2017, that date—dubbed Tax Freedom Day by the Tax Foundation—falls on April 23, or 113 days into the year.
Residents of the commonwealth face a $4,589 per-person state and local tax burden, or more than $18,000 per family of four. Add in federal taxes and Pennsylvanians devote nearly one-third of the year to paying their total tax bill.
The Tax Foundation estimates Americans will pay $3.5 trillion in federal taxes plus $1.6 trillion in state and local taxes. The $5.1 trillion total tax burden is roughly equal to the gross domestic products of Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Australia combined.
“Pennsylvanians lost another day to taxes this year and the reason is obvious: taxpayers can’t keep up with out-of-control government spending,” commented Bob Dick, senior policy analyst for the Commonwealth Foundation. “It’s clear something is wrong when it takes nearly a third of the year to fund government. As lawmakers and the governor hash out their differences over the state budget, they should resolve not to tax another day away from hardworking Pennsylvanians.”
Bob Dick and other Commonwealth Foundation experts are available for comment. Please contact Gina Diorio at 862-703-6670 or gld@commonwealthfoundation.org to schedule an interview.
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The Commonwealth Foundation transforms free-market ideas into public policies so all Pennsylvanians can flourish.
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