April 18 is Tax Day, and income tax returns are due to the Internal Revenue Service. Photo Credit: Saturnism/Flickr.com/CC-BY-SA

Federal income tax returns are due on April 18, 2011, and most Americans will dutifully fulfill their obligations to do so. There has been a lot of discussion about how large a tax burden is actually placed on the taxpayers, and how oppressive the income tax is. Nearly 50 percent of income tax filers will not owe the government a dime.

55 percent of Americans pay income tax

Tax Day 2011 falls on April 18 rather than April 15. This year nearly 45 percent of households will not have to pay any taxes on their 2010 income, according to Bloomberg. Low-income households receive exemptions and deductions, such as the Earned Income Credit and the Making Work Pay Credit. Those who pay no income taxes are very low income or living on a fixed income such as Social Security or disability income. People who have children but make very little also commonly pay no income taxes. The average tax refund, according to CNN, was $3,003 last year.

Wealthy paying less

The tax burden for the wealthiest taxpayers, according to Daily Finance, has been falling for some time. In 1992, the 400 returns with the highest reported incomes averaged a tax bill of 26 percent of their income, but that figure was 17 percent in 2007. Though the wealthiest 10 percent account for more than half the nation’s tax revenue by dollar amount and the wealthiest 5 percent account for 44 percent, the more lucrative tax breaks, such as for charitable contributions, are available to the rich. There are more than $1 trillion in tax breaks in the current U.S. tax code, enough to get an $8,000 refund per taxpayer per year. However, trying to catch the Internal Revenue Service napping is not a good idea. The IRS is more likely to press charges now than at any point in the past decade, according to USA Today.

Americans pay lower taxes than most developed countries

Though many people protest the U.S. tax system for myriad reasons, most technical literature reveals that Americans pay very little income tax compared with the rest of the developed world, according to MSNBC. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, maintains data on taxes in the developed world. The OECD estimates that Americans average 24 percent of income paid in taxes, compared to 48 percent for Danes, 42 percent for the French, 37 percent in Germany and 27 percent in Australia.

Sources

Bloomberg

CNN

Daily Finance

USA Today

MSNBC

April 15, Tax Day, is more than just the day taxes are due. There are lots of tax day freebies too. Image from Flickr.

April 15 may be tax deadline day, but free Starbucks coffee and other tax day freebies are sure to take a bit of the sting out of the stress. As a part of its Make A Difference campaign, Starbucks will be offering free coffee April 15 to any customers who come in with their own re-usable mugs, travel cups or coffee cups. You may need the cheapest personal loans to pay off your tax bill, but you won’t need a single cent to get free Starbucks coffee.

Bring your own mug for free Starbucks coffee

If you go to any Starbucks coffee shop on April 15 with your own mug, you can get free brewed coffee. Usually, Starbucks offers a coffee discount on April 15. However, on tax day 2010, Starbucks is asking customers to make a pledge to use reusable cups rather than the paper cups that have become so popular.

Other Tax Day Freebies

Now that you are fueled up with your free Starbucks coffee, there are even more tax day freebies you can use to take the sting out of the instant cash loan you needed to pay your bill (or celebrate your return!). Cinnabon, Hydromassage, and Maggie Moo’s are all offering tax day freebies. Boston Market, IHOP, Mccormick & Schmick’s and P.F. Chang’s are all offering tax day discounts.

Tax Day Freebies | Cinnabon

Cinnabon is offering a “Tax Day Bites!” special to take the sting out of tax day. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Cinnabon is offering a tax day freebie of two bite-sized cupcakes.

Tax Day Freebies | MaggieMoo’s

All MaggieMoo’s gourmet ice cream shops are offering a free slice of ice cream pizza on April 15. The ice cream pizza is a “slice” of ice cream with red frosting on white chocolate. It’s a cold treat for tax day.

Tax Day Freebies | Hydromassage

If your local mall has a Hydromassage store, it will offer Free Massages as a tax day freebie. Hydromassage suggests you call ahead to make an appointment for your tax day freebie massage.

Tax Day Discounts | Boston Market

At Boston Market, you can get the “Last Minute Tax Break” by showing this Boston Market coupon between April 15 and April 18. Buy one plate, get another plate free.

Tax Day Discounts | IHOP

During the whole month of April, IHOP is offering a free child’s dinner for every adult meal purchased between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Tax Day Discounts | McCormick & Schmick’s

There are $10.40 dinner specials and a $10.40 free coupon at McCormick & Schmick’s on April 15. If you are a professional tax preparer, the tax day discount extends to you on Friday – plus a free dessert if you show your business card.

Tax Day Discounts | P.F. Chang’s

Unless it is happy hour, P.F. Chang’s is offering a tax day discount of 15 percent off your meal for dine-in or take-out.