Happy Emancipation Day!

[Dave Monroe]

April 16 has special meaning for the District of Columbia. On that day
in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation
Act, For the release of certain persons held to service or labor in
the District of Columbia. The Act freed about 3,100 enslaved persons
in DC nine months before President Lincoln issued his famous
Emancipation Proclamation telegraphing the eventual end of slavery to
the rest of the nation. The District of Columbia Compensated
Emancipation Act represents the only example of compensation by the
federal government to free enslaved persons.

On January 4, 2005, Emancipation Day was made an official public
holiday in the District....

http://www.os.dc.gov/os/cwp/view,a,1207,q,608954.asp

Taxpayers Have Until April 17 to File and Pay

IR-2007-15, Jan. 24, 2007

WASHINGTON — Taxpayers across the nation will have until Tuesday,
April 17, 2007, to file their 2006 returns and pay any taxes due, the
Internal Revenue Service announced today.

Taxpayers will have extra time to file and pay because April 15 falls
on a Sunday in 2007, and the following day, Monday, April 16, is
Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia.

"This year, taxpayers have additional time to file and pay beyond the
traditional April 15 deadline," said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson.
"As we always do, we encourage taxpayers to get an early start on
their taxes to make sure they have plenty of time to accurately
prepare their return."

This means the entire country has an April 17 deadline. Previously,
the April 17 deadline applied just to individuals in the District of
Columbia and six eastern states who are served by an IRS processing
facility in Massachusetts, where Patriots Day will be observed on
April 16....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Day#Washington.2C_D.C.