Iowa's Tax Freedom Day fell in April

By Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

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A warning up front: This may not make you feel any better.

Tax season is upon us. For the go-getters out there, in fact, it may already be over.

Others, who procrastinate, prolong and postpone, are still gathering receipts and formulating creative explanations why season tickets to college football games should be deductible. You know who you are.

Information compiled by the Tax Foundation offers a bit of comfort for those dreading the annual financial flogging. And here it is: Iowa compares favorably to most of its neighbors and to the country when ranking our total tax burden. ...

Iowa ranks 36th among the 50 states based on when its “tax freedom” day arrived in 2010. Tax freedom day is the point on the calendar when you've worked long enough to pay your complete tax obligation. Iowa's fell on April 4.

That means the average Iowan worked the first 94 days of the year to pay their local, state and federal taxes. Depressing, unless you take a look at some of our neighbors:

Minnesota, 8th, 103 days, April 13.

Wisconsin, 13th, 102 days, April 12.

Illinois, 14th, 101 days, April 11.

Nebraska, 27th, 97 days, April 7.

Residents of other nearby states fared better:

South Dakota, 47th, 88 days, March 29.

Missouri, 35th, 94 days, April 4. ...

Here's another jolt of reality: The calculations do not include payment for the federal deficit. To do that, the average American would have to work an additional 38 days.

“Since 1948, when tax freedom day was first calculated, the difference between what governments are spending and what they're collecting has never been as great as during 2009 and 2010,” according to the Tax Foundation.

Which brings us to budget discussions in Des Moines ...