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Taxpayer Independence Is A Day Away

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – When you head off to work on Tuesday you'll have something to smile about.

Florida Taxwatch, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit taxpayer research institute, said April 22nd is Taxpayer Independence Day which means, on average, workers will begin earning income that does not go toward federal, state and local taxes.

"This symbolic day puts taxpayers' responsibility in perspective, showing us how much of a presence government, at different levels, has in our lives." said Taxwatch President Dominic Calabro in a statement. "It has taken Florida taxpayers 111 days, or more than three and a half months, to finally stop paying off their 2014 tax burden."

According to the group, this year's Taxpayer Independence Day is three days later than in 2013, and marks the third consecutive year that Taxpayer Independence Day has moved later in the year. The time to pay off a Floridian's tax burden is later in 2014 due to faster increasing federal taxes.

More than 70 percent of the average Floridian's tax burden is make up of federal taxes, which are expected to increase by 9 percent in 2014.

According to the report, Floridians are expected to contribute more than $250 billion in taxes to federal, state and local governments in 2014, which is $18 billion in revenue above current collections.

Based on average personal income, each Floridian will work 2 hours and 26 minutes per day to pay all of their owed taxes, meaning workers don't begin earning wages for other expenses until 11:26 a.m. This daily tax independence takes five minutes longer than in 2013.

Despite a later Taxpayer Independence Day, the report does have good news: Floridian's buying power is also expected to increase in 2014, allowing the average household to spend 1 percent more this year.

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