Cliff Stearns: “Last week, April 17, was Tax Day, when all hardworking Americans must file their taxes with the Internal Revenue…”

“Last week, April 17, was Tax Day, when all hardworking Americans must file their taxes with the Internal Revenue Service. Ironically enough, April 17 was also Tax Freedom Day, the day when Americans earn just about enough earned income to pay off the tax bill for all Federal, State, and local taxes. The first 111 days of the year, everything you and I, and all Americans earn went to fund the United States Federal Government, the same government that wasted $800,000 on a GSA conference with mind readers, commemorative coins, and bike building exercises, and the same government that thought giving half a billion dollars to Solyndra was a good idea. In 1900, Americans paid about 5.9 percent of their income in taxes, and Tax Freedom Day came about 22 days into the year. It is a far cry, my colleagues, from what we have to endure in taxes today. If you think 111 days to reach Tax Freedom Day is excessive, just wait till next year. We are on the cusp of a tax Armageddon. I like to call it a Taxmageddon. It's scheduled to hit on January 1, 2013. It will be the largest tax increase in memory, possibly ever, a $494 billion tax increase in 1 year. When we talk about taxes, we usually project the increase or decrease in revenue over a 10-year budget horizon. But this $494 billion tax increase isn't over a 10-year budget window; it is an immediate massive tax increase in 1 year. Where do these tax increases come from?…”