Today is Tax Freedom Day, the first day of the year where Britons stop working for the taxman and start working for themselves, and the media have come out in force to help celebrate and spread the word.
Allister Heath wrote in The Daily Telegraph's Business pages:
The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) has developed a brilliant device to illustrate exactly how much of our hard-earned national output we are forced to hand over to the politicians for them to spend as they see hit.
Their annual Tax Freedom Day marks the day of the year when Britons stop working to pay their taxes and start earning for themselves, rather than the taxman.
Lauren Davidson also covered the story on The Daily Telegraph.
The ASI and TPA joint letter to the editor featured in The Times leading slot.
The Daily Mail ran a piece in print alongside three Mail Online (second, third) articles:
We might be halfway through the year, but today is the first in 2016 when workers get to keep all their wages instead of paying the taxman. It is Tax Freedom Day – and in a clear sign the Government has ratcheted up its charges, it has come four days later than last year. Researchers at the Adam Smith Institute said Britons had to work 154 days this year to pay their taxes.
The Daily Express ran an article in print and two pieces on Express Online (second):
Institute director Eamonn Butler said: “The Treasury hates Tax Freedom Day because they don’t want us to know how much tax we really pay. They conceal the tax burden with stealth taxes we don’t realise we’re paying."
City AM ran a front page box out to Sam Bowman's comment piece in The Forum, as well as their own piece on City AM online:
Ask a random person on the street how much tax they pay and they’ll usually guess around 20 per cent of their income. That’s the basic rate of income tax, and it’s easy to forget taxes like VAT, council tax, beer and wine duties, air passenger duty, motoring taxes and stamp duty.
The Mirror focused on our serfdom in their two pieces of coverage for Tax Freedom Day:
The stealth taxes that mean we've become a nation of 'mediaeval serfs' working for the Government. It now takes an astonishing 142 days' work just to pay your taxes - the longest for 15 years.
The Metro also covered the story noting that 'Today is the day you stop working to pay taxes and start earning cash for yourself'.
Head of Research, Ben Southwood, made the case for lowering taxes on the Spectator Coffee House blog, with TFD also appearing in the Money Digest.
Ben also gave an in depth analysis of what Tax Freedom Day really means for CapX, and Sam Bowman's article on Tax Freedom Day appeared on Conservative Home.
Ben Southwood appeared on BBC Radio 4 news bulletin throughout the day as well as Share Radio in the morning.
As well as over 300 regional papers and radio stations, other coverage of note included the Sky News Yorkshire Post, The Week, Guido Fawkes, and Economia.