Tax Freedom Day is the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year. Last year, Tax Freedom Day fell on April 19th, which was a 3-day improvement from 2017 when Tax Freedom Day was April 22nd. This improvement was largely due to the new tax law which meant most people paying less in taxes. Even so, we’re talking about 30% of our nation’s GDP going to federal ($3.4 trillion) and state ($1.8 trillion) taxes. That’s more than American’s spend on food, clothing, and housing combined! Georgia is a tad better than average with a Tax Freedom Day of April 9th, while New York is the worst at May 14th.
I could go on and on about wasteful gov’t spending, but nothing ever seems to help. I live in Gwinnett County where we are having a “special election” in mid-March to add a “penny tax” for the funding of Marta and other mass-transit. “It’s just a penny”, they say. I say it’s yet another 1% of my AFTER TAX income. Remember when sales tax in Georgia was 3%?! The avarice of gov’t is unrelenting.
Sigh. I meant to keep this email light and funny. Oh, well. I can at least leave you with a funny comic. Here are some seasonal reminders:
April approaches, so it’s crunch time for income tax filing, and inevitably some of you will not be able to get an appointment with your preparer that works for your schedule. So what can you do?
1. “Drop-Off” – All of our preparers have clients who Portal/email/fax/snailmail their information in to them (about 1/3 of our clients!). We work on your taxes and usually get back to you in about a week with questions or results. Then it’s just a matter of signatures, typically sent the same way, and you’re done.
2. See Another Preparer – We know you’re all very loyal to your preparers, but sometimes scheduling just can’t be worked out. Be assured, all of our preparers are extremely experienced and knowledgeable.
3. File an Extension – If you just can’t get all your tax information together in time, you can ask us to file an extension for you.
The last day to file your income taxes this year is April 15th, but please don’t wait until the last minute!