Tax Freedom Day is a symbolic date that shows what share of people’s earned income goes to finance government spending. 

It indicates how many days taxpayers work to fund public expenditures—education, healthcare, national defense, and more. It is a relative indicator of budget spending that shows what portion of a person’s created value is redistributed through the national budget and extra-budgetary funds. Its core message is a reminder that the government has no money of its own—all public spending is paid for by working, value-creating, tax-paying citizens. 

Each year this symbolic day is calculated and announced in many countries around the world—for example, in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Nordic countries. In the U.S. it is typically observed in mid-April, and in the U.K. in early May. The Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) has been calculating Lithuania’s Tax Freedom Day since 1993, based on budget laws and Ministry of Finance forecasts for economic growth.