The online text chat begins at 1 p.m. ET.
Be sure to send your questions in early or read the archives later.
Tax Freedom Day
According to the Tax Foundation, the average taxpayer needs to work 107 days to pay off the federal, state or local taxes which average 29 percent of their income, reports Blake Ellis of CNNMoney.com.
The foundation pegs the day people finally work long enough to cover their taxes as “Tax Freedom Day,” which is calculated each year based on income, Social Security, sales, property and other taxes. The latest-ever Tax Freedom Day was May 1, 2000. In 1900, Tax Freedom Day came as early as Jan. 22 because people paid just 5.9 percent of their income in taxes, according to the foundation.
Ironically, Tax Freedom Day this year is April 17, this year’s deadline for filing your tax return.
If you are still working on your return, here are some recent tax stories that might be of interest to you:
●Protect yourself as scams spring up during tax season.
April is National Financial Literacy Month
In recognition of Financial Literacy Month, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association released the results of a financial literacy survey that found that people don’t know enough about personal finance.
The following are some of the results from the survey:
●More than half of U.S. adults admitted that they do not have a budget.
●One-third of survey respondents do not pay all of their bills on time.
●Thirty-nine percent of adults carry over credit card debt month to month.
●Twenty-five percent of those who do not currently have non-retirement savings indicated that, if they did begin to save, they would keep their savings at home in cash.
“This year’s survey unveiled some disturbing trends, showing that a significant number of Americans are saving less, spending more and carrying credit card debt over from month to month, suggesting that the painful financial lessons of the past are quickly being forgotten,” said Susan C. Keating, president and CEO of the NFCC.
I had hoped that the Great Recession would change people’s behavior. However, this survey, conducted March 16-19, shows that people are going back to some old ways.
“Making well-informed decisions about money is a key life skill,” said David Vladeck, director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Financial Literacy Month is a great time to learn your financial rights – or teach someone you care about.”
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has launched a new initiative, called Ask CFPB, to help consumers get clear answers to financial questions.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is kicking off the month by hosting a Money Smart Week from April 21-28. The bank will have a series of free classes and activities designed to help consumers better manage their personal finances. To find out whether there are free financial education events near you, go to the bank’s Web site at www.chicagofed.org and click on the link for Money Smart Week.
Loading...
Comments