Tennessee has one of the lightest tax burdens in the country, according to new research from the non-partisan Tax Foundation. The group calculates how far into the year people must work to pay off their federal and state taxes.
The average this year is mid-April, three days later than in 2011. In Tennessee, the so-called “tax freedom day” came March 31st, the earliest in the country. Governor Bill Haslam is already trumpeting the results.
“If you live here, you’re going to be done paying taxes a long time before anybody else. That helps my job.”
The Tax Foundation finds Tennesseans will work fewer days to pay off their 2012 taxes than anywhere else.
Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina are just a few days behind Tennessee. But that isn’t just a result of low taxes. States with low incomes fair better in the ranking because high income earners are taxed at higher rates. Thus the latest tax freedom day – according to the Tax Foundation – is in Connecticut, more than a month after Tennessee.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM