The tax benefits that Southeast Michigan homeowners experience come into sharp focus on days like Monday. The nominal Tax Day—April 15—fell on Friday of last week, so Southeast Michigan taxpayers who had labored long into the night last Thursday might have been surprised to learn on Friday that their Federal Income Tax returns were not due until after the weekend. The reason was not to give John Q. Public an extra weekend to gather the paystubs, canceled checks, and receipts—it was, more or less, to provide Federal workers an extra day off.
Washington, D.C. is the only place in the country whose residents observe April 16 as a legal holiday—“Emancipation Day.” April 16, 1862, was the date that Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act, which freed 3,000 slaves in the District. National emancipation didn’t happen until after the end of the Civil War in 1865.
Even given the D.C. holiday, Southeast Michigan taxpayers may wonder why Friday, April 15, was nixed as Tax Day since April 16 fell on Saturday. The unofficial reason is that the Federal workers were given the day off on Friday because when Federal holidays fall on a weekend, the day to observe it is moved to a nearby workday: Friday this year. To have allowed the observance to fall on a weekend would have bilked the Washington, D.C. federal workers out of a day off. They might have felt put upon.
Even Southeast Michigan taxpayers who heard the explanation may not have eluded the traditional raising of blood pressure that goes with deciphering tax forms. On the other hand, for taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts, because their states’ “Patriots Day” holiday always falls on the third Monday in April, their returns weren’t due until Tuesday, which might leave their blood pressures relatively undisturbed on Monday. But for Southeast Michigan taxpayers who are thinking that an extra Michigan holiday should be declared if for no better reason than to keep pace with the other states, no proposal has yet appeared. The tax advantages afforded by their Southeast Michigan real estate holdings will have to suffice for the foreseeable future. For taxpayers who have yet to take advantage of those, call me!
