Tax Freedom Day will be later and later

Tax Freedom Day — the day on which Americans have earned enough money to pay all federal, state, and local taxes for the year — arrived on April 9, 2010. Your specific Tax Freedom Day depends on where you live. Here in North Carolina, the date was April 7. My friends in California will celebrate April 14. The latest celebrations will be in Connecticut on April 27, while Louisiana celebrated way back on March 26.

The depressing note about all of this is that all the current government spending will push Tax Freedom Day later. We are leaving a terrible legacy for our children and grandchildren while spending money for the needs of folks today. The Bible states that a wise man will leave an inheritance for his grandchildren. The actions of our politicians is creating an unsustainable debt that will hurt the next generation.

So how did you do on taxes this year? Get a big refund? I still meet folks who excitedly await their federal and/or state refunds. Why would you do this? States all across the country have been withholding their refunds to taxpayers due to budget woes. Many folks who are depending on this refund may not see it until the summer. Make sure you adjust your withholding so as to keep your refund or payment as close to zero as possible. Think about it, if you average a $2600 refund, that's $50 a week you could be using to manage your budget.

On another note, it was just released this past weekend that 47% of Americans pay no income tax whatsoever. Even more shocking is that the majority of those folks actually get money back! Americans also feel that they are overtaxed as well.