Happy Tax (Plus Deficit) Freedom Day

Tax Freedom Day® was April 9, 2010, but today — May 17, 2010 — represents the date on which Americans have worked enough to pay this year’s tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels plus the federal budget deficit. Another way to put it: If tax collections matched spending, Tax Freedom Day would be today, an additional 38 days of work.

Federal spending is at its highest since World War II. Using current deficit projections from the Congressional Budget Office, the average household’s share of total spending is $31,737, and the average household’s share of total taxes is $18,579, leaving a per-household deficit of $13,158.