Photo by afagen.

To those around the country who incorrectly view our fair city as simply a place where real America comes to protest, don’t forget: our local government is to thank for a couple of extra days to file your income taxes this year.

Of course, April 15 is Tax Day, the last day Americans can postmark or electronically file their 1040s without incurring penalty. But this year, April 15 also happens to be the day the District will observe Emancipation Day, the holiday which honors the anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln freeing the nearly 3,100 slaves of the federal city in 1862. Usually, Emancipation Day is celebrated on April 16, the day Lincoln actually signed the Compensated Emancipation Act — but since the 16th falls on a Saturday this year, D.C. will observe it the day before. (Former D.C. mayor Anthony Williams legitimized the day off for city employees in 2005; a suggestion by another former mayor, Adrian Fenty, to save money by eliminating the day off in 2009 was shot down with extreme prejudice.) And since D.C. holidays are legally equivalent to federal holidays to the Internal Revenue Service, this year’s filing deadline has been extended to Monday, April 18.

So, yeah, the next time some out-of-town bully starts in with the trash talking about our fair city, you just remind him or her that we’re the ones to thank for that little extra time to fill out their itemized return. (I’m sure that’ll show ’em.)