Taxes are due Tuesday, and according to a new report from the Tax Foundation, Alabamians have already earned enough money this year to pay their total tax bill for 2017.
In the Washington D.C.-based tax policy nonprofit’s new “Tax Freedom Day” report, the Tax Foundation determined the day when the average American hypothetically has worked enough to pay all federal, state and local taxes for the year. For the nation as a whole, that day falls on April 23 — this coming Sunday — 113 days into the year.
The goal of Tax Freedom Day is to help Americans understand the cost of government, and according to the report, this year Americans will collectively pay $3.5 trillion in federal taxes and $1.6 trillion in state and local taxes, for a total bill of more than $5.1 trillion, or 31 percent of the nation’s income. Meaning Americans will collectively spend more on taxes in 2017 than they will on food, clothing, and housing combined.
Here’s how Alabama compares to the rest of the nation:
