According to the Tax Foundation, today, April 21, 2014, is Tax Freedom Day. It's the day we have worked as a nation collectively to pay our total tax bill for the year. This includes federal and state income taxes for a combined total of $4.5 trillion.
Tax Freedom Day is three days later than last year at 111 days into the year.
We will spend more on taxes in 2014 than we will on food, clothing and housing combined. President Obama's latest 10-year budget proposal would have had taxes and federal spending to continue increasing with no end in sight. If the president had his way, our taxes would continue to go up with no end in sight.
The administration's response to all of this is to ignore the facts, ignore the people and businesses who have been hurt by increased tax burdens, ignore the fact that median household income continues to decline, and try to intimidate those of us who are not afraid to speak out concerning the abuses of this administration.
So, on Tax Freedom Day, the pain of working for a federal government wrought with waste, fraud, abuse and corruption may have ended for this year, but an audit could be lurking just around the corner. Another sneak-a-tax may be buried in a regulatory rule we have not seen yet.
A request for a tax-exempt status for an organization considered "conservative" might be held up indefinitely. Or, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the IRS may be ignored or delayed indefinitely, such as the one made by the Republican National Committee. They have been waiting for over 200 days for a FOIA request that can usually be answered within 30 days.
Tax Freedom Day, unfortunately, does not ease the stress of an unexpected and intrusive action or demand into our lives by this administration. They have replaced service to the people with intimidation of the people.
Just ask Dr. Ben Carson, who is being audited following his public criticism of ObamaCare in the presence of President Obama. Ask Catherine Englebrecht, who was harassed by multiple federal agencies for starting an organization to help insure integrity at the ballot box. Ask cattle rancher Cliven Bundy, whose prized bulls were killed by federal Bureau of Land Management agents because they say he owes back grazing fees. I don't know if he does or not, but is that a sensible way to resolve the dispute with a government that is supposed to work for us?
Tax Freedom Day is an important benchmark for the year, but when do we get IRS freedom day? Answer! It's when we replace the tax code.
When do we get EPA freedom day, NLRB freedom day, NSA freedom day, Senator Harry Reid freedom day, Representative Nancy Pelosi freedom day, and President Barrack Hussein Obama freedom day?
Answer! It's when we change control of the Senate in November 2014, and elect a Republican president in 2016. Until then, I don't feel free.
Quite the contrary, I feel threatened that my life could become a living hell at the whim of the same federal government that we fund with our hard-earned tax dollars.
