On the Clock for the Government

Michigan residents have to punch in from 9 a.m. to 11:07 a.m. every work day to pay off their tax liability, according to a study done by The Tax Foundation.

The “Tax Bite in the Eight Hour Day” analysis included federal, state and local taxes in the state. Michigan ranked 26^th nationwide. Connecticut was No. 1, with their workers having to be on the clock for government until 11:40 a.m. Mississippi workers were able to cut out the earliest, leaving at 10:51 a.m.

The overall nationwide average was 11:13 a.m., as taxes ate up 27.7 percent of U.S. workers’ salaries in 2011.

“At pretty much every business, your morning belongs to the government every day,” said Leon Drolet, chairman of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance. “No wonder people look forward to their lunch break so they can finally start providing for their families instead of the government.”

The Tax Foundation’s calculations were based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Congressional Budget Office, Joint Committee on Taxation, Office of Management and Budget, Internal Revenue Service, Congressional Research Service and the National Bureau of Economic Research.