Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government
"The Commonwealth Activist Network"
18 Tremont Street #608 * Boston, MA 02108
Phone:(617) 248-0022 * E-Mail: cltg@cltg.org
Visit our web-page at: http://cltg.org
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*** CLT&G Update ***
Wednesday, May 13, 1998

Tax Freedom Day for nation was Sunday:
In Massachusetts tomorrow

Greetings activists and supporters:

Finally, starting tomorrow taxpayers of Massachusetts can begin working for themselves instead of for government! Every single cent you have earned since News Years Day, January 1st, has gone to feed an insatiable government, that just keeps endlessly choking down more and more of your income every year.

Taxpayers across the rest of the country were free to work for themselves starting last Sunday. Massachusetts taxpayers (along with taxpayers in only Connecticut, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York and New Jersey), are still working to support Big Brother’s gluttony.

We Bay Staters have had to work an extra four days to catch up with our additional state tax burden before we are, at long last, free of its demands.

Tomorrow we will be "free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, free at last!"

Chip Ford—
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The Boston Sunday Herald
May 10, 1998

Lead Editorial: Yes, taxes are taking more

Tax Freedom Day is a useful gauge of the burden of government. According to the Tax Foundation, this year that burden is heavier than ever before.

Starting on Jan. 1, if every cent the average American earned went to paying federal, state and local taxes, Tax Freedom Day is the date on which he would finally have fulfilled his obligations to those three levels of government.

The Tax Foundation documents Big Brother’s relentless advance. In 1998, Tax Freedom Day is today [Sunday], the latest ever -- 10 day later than in 1991, when it fell on May 1. This dramatic rise is due mostly to federal tax increases of the early 1990s, together with economic expansion that has pushed many taxpayers into higher brackets.

But May 10 is only a national average. Each state is assigned its own Tax Freedom Day, based on state and local levies. Those who think a mere $500 million tax cut is more than enough for Massachusetts residents should also know that there the day of manumission falls on Thursday. Bay State residents actually have the sixth heaviest tax burden in the nation. And if that isn’t enough to spur the long-promised reduction in the state income tax from 5.95 percent back down to 5 percent, we don’t know what is.

The Tax Foundation also offers another perspective on the tax burden. In an eight-hour workday, the average American labors for one hour and 55 minutes to pay federal taxes alone. Add another 55 minutes for the state and local taxes. Together, that’s almost as much as the time devoted to paying for housing, medical care and food.

As the tax burden grows, freedom shrinks. Government isn’t just taking our money, it’s usurping a very large part of our lives. The income it takes from us limits our ability to provide for our families and to pursue our modest dreams.

In his latest book, "A History of the American People," British historian Paul Johnson points out that America’s phenomenal success was due in part to the fact that for the first 150 years of our national existence, government here was far less onerous than anywhere else in the civilized world.

Since the early 1960s, we’ve seen a steady advance of government and the corresponding decline of national greatness. May 10 -- circle today’s date on your calendar and be aware that it’s not just a theoretical measurement but a sign of the erosion of liberty.
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While Federal Tax Burden Climbs,
Relative State Burdens Vary
· from -

http://taxfoundation.org/

The average American’s per capita federal tax bill in 1997 is up 3.1 percent over last year’s, according to the Tax Foundation’s latest federal tax burden analysis (see Chart 1).

In nominal terms, the per capita federal tax burden has risen 36.5 percent since 1992, and 57.5 percent since 1988.

In his annual Special Report on the "1997 Federal Tax Burden by State," Economist Patrick Fleenor projects total federal tax collections at just under $1.5 trillion in fiscal 1997, for a per capita federal tax burden of $5,497. Over three-quarters of these revenues comes from just two sources: roughly 46 percent of the load stems from individual income taxes and 36 percent from social insurance taxes (see Chart 2). Along with these levies, 12 percent of the federal tax bill comes from corporate income taxes and four percent from excise taxes. Estate and gift taxes, customs duties, and miscellaneous taxes account for the remainder of the tax bill.

But residents of some states will see far higher tax bills than residents of other states. The average federal tax bill for fiscal 1997 will range from a high of $8,304 in Connecticut to a low of $3,683 in Mississippi (see Chart 3). . . .

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You can e-mail CLT&G at --> cltg@cltg.org
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"The only alternative to limited taxation and government is unlimited taxation and government"