Statehouse Dems Pushing Colorado Farther Away from Tax Freedom

The Tax Foundation’s yearly “Tax Freedom Day” report is out (H/T State Policy Network Blog), and the results as usual are not startling. The average taxpayer both in Colorado and nationwide has to work until April 23 to pay off their share of the tax burden:

This year’s Tax Freedom Day falls three days earlier than in 2007. Fiscal stimulus rebates and a projection of slow growth in 2008 are the principal reasons for the earlier celebration. However, if the large projected deficit for 2008 were counted as a tax in the current year, Tax Freedom Day would fall on May 3.

“Government continues to dominate the American taxpayer’s budget,” said Tax Foundation president Scott Hodge. “Americans will still spend more on taxes in 2008 than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined.”

In 2008, Americans will work 74 days to afford their federal taxes and 39 more days to pay state and local taxes. Meanwhile, buying food requires 35 days of work, clothing 13 days, and housing 60 days. Other major categories are health and medical care (50 days), transportation (29 days), and recreation (21 days).

Unfortunately, the Democrat majority in the Colorado state legislature is doing its best to make it even worse for taxpayers in 2009 (H/T Rocky Mountain Right):

But Rep. Amy Stephens, the GOP caucus chief, said majority Democrats want to spend right up to the 6 percent budget growth cap, while taxpayers are tightening their belts for a looming recession.

“We believe it puts a squeeze on Colorado families at a time when we’re headed into a recession and foreclosures,” she said. “We’re growing government far more than we’re growing Colorado.”

Republicans called for reining in overall spending and instead investing in improving the state’s congested and decaying transportation system, Stephens added.

GOP lawmakers kept hammering majority Democrats for adding 1,334 full-time state jobs after a new forecast predicted a nearly $700 million nose dive in state revenues over five years.

Add that into last year’s unconstitutional property tax increase pushed through by Democrat legislators – and signed by Gov. Bill Ritter – and it looks like Tax Freedom Day for Coloradans will come even later next year.