Tax Day

Today is Tax Day. But a more important date is Tax Freedom Day. That is the day when your tax burden is lifted. It is calculated by dividing the official government tally of all taxes collected in each year by the official government tally of all income earned in each year. Put another way, it is when you are no longer working for the government but are now working for yourself and your family.

This year Tax Freedom Day arrived on April 13. This is eight days earlier than in 2008, and a full two weeks earlier than in 2007. There are two reasons for this. First, the recession reduced tax collections even faster than it reduced income. Second, the stimulus package included large temporary tax cuts for 2009 and 2010.

Due to circumstances, Tax Freedom Day actually arrived before Tax Day. Even so, it is worth noting that Americans will pay more in taxes than they will spend on food, clothing, and housing combined.

But before you declare freedom from government, I need to tell you about another day. It is called Cost of Government Day. This is the date on which the average American has paid his share of the financial burden imposed by the spending and regulation that occurs on the federal, state, and local levels. I haven’t seen the date for 2009, but last year the Cost of Government Day was July 16.

Think about that date for a moment. It takes a little more than half of the year to finally get government off your back so that you can begin to earn a living for you and your family. Recent estimates show that the cost of government is increasing faster than national income. That would suggest that the Cost of Government Day will be later and later each year.

These dates help us realize what is happening around us. There is a cost, but often we don’t see it. Our taxes are withheld from each paycheck, so we often don’t think about what we are paying. And since the cost of most regulations is hidden, we don’t see those costs either. But imagine if we had to pay all our taxes today in one lump sum. You can bet there would be an outcry. I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.