Today is the mythical day known as Tax Freedom Day. For some this day actually occurs around Valentine's Day, while for others it is actually in the dog days of summer.
Here is a summary explanation from the Tax Foundation:
Tax Freedom Day will arrive on April 23 this year, the 113th day of 2008 (ignoring Leap Day). That means Americans will work nearly four months of the year, from January 1 to April 23, before they have earned enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels.
Americans, as a whole, work a significant number of days each year to pay for things other than government, but nothing else is so expensive. Americans will work longer to pay for government (113 days) than they will for food, clothing and housing combined (108 days). In fact, Americans will work longer to afford federal taxes alone (74 days) than they will to afford housing (60 days). As a group, Americans will also work longer to pay state and local taxes than they will to pay for food.
Tax Freedom Day had arrived later for the four previous years, but due to an expected slowdown in the nation's economy and a massive one-time fiscal stimulus tax cut passed earlier this year, Tax Freedom Day is projected to arrive three days earlier this year compared to last year.
Here is a graphic of what we spend our income on in the US:
(see below)
Or for a lighter version of the same story check out this YouTube music video of Tax Freedom Day.
If the three presidential candidates have their way, it could be much later in the year for all of us within a few years. In fact, it might even make the late 1990s (during the last Clinton administration) look good. Here is tax freedom day graphed over time:
