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With only 16% of British adults feeling their tax burden is fair, taxpayers can this week raise a bittersweet toast to Tax Freedom Day, the notional point in the calendar year when we stop working for the taxman and start working for ourselves.
In other words, the day in the year when the average Briton has finally earned enough to pay his annual tax bill.
Tax Freedom Day falls 19 days earlier than last year, on 14 May 2009, but Unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website, is urging individuals to take tax action in order to bring their personal Tax Freedom Day forward.
Unbiased.co.uk's annual Tax Action report reveals that as a nation we will waste over £10 billion by squandering tax breaks, reliefs and credits and paying fines for late or inaccurate tax returns.
The amount of tax wasted through poor financial planning will increase by £700 million in 2009 compared to 2008, amounting to the highest ever wastage since Unbiased.co.uk's campaign began 17 years ago.
However, over four fifths of UK taxpayers (81%) admit to having done nothing to reduce their tax payments over the past year.
David Elms, Chief Executive of Unbiased.co.uk commented "The Adam Smith Institute, which calculates Tax Freedom Day to highlight shifts in the public tax burden, says this is the earliest it has fallen since 1973."
"However, the Institute also warns that this day is likely to fall much later in years to come as the Government seeks to repair the public finances" (by raising taxes).
Almost everyone can take action to bring their personal Tax Freedom Day forward, and sometimes a few simple steps can make a marked difference.
Here's a number of areas to look at to help you stamp out tax wastage:
Plan your inheritance: Inheritance tax is often lost through not writing life assurance policies in trust, not thinking about inheritance tax allowances and, worst of all, by not making a will at all.
If you save: Use up your annual ISA allowance - You can place up to £7,200 in a tax-free Individual Savings Account (ISA), £3,600 of which can be cash, and the rest stockmarket related investments, or all of it stockmarket based. Also consider a Friendly Society savings account or products from National Savings & Investments as tax-efficient savings options.
If you are eligible: Claim your tax credits - 'Free money' is up for grabs from HMRC and the DWP, in the form of Pension Credits, Child Tax Credits and Working Family Tax credits.
If you fill in a tax return: Sort out your self-assessment - Self-assessment forms received after the deadline of 31st January incur penalties of £100; further penalties and errors make up the balance of tax wasted in this way.
All taxpayers: Maximise your personal tax allowances - claim tax back on banks and building society savings accounts, if you can, and transfer savings accounts to non-taxpaying spouses, if appropriate, so that the tax liability on the savings is lower, or none.
Pension savers: Top up your pension pot, you get tax relief on this - optimise contributions to personal or company pension schemes, or make Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs).
If your employer offers an employee share plan: Look into taking advantage of it, it can be very tax efficient.
If you have capital gains: Use your allowance efficiently, perhaps by transferring assets between spouses to make the most of both of your CGT allowances.
If you give to charity: Use tax-efficient means of charitable giving, i.e. using a deed of covenant, Gift Aid or payroll giving.
If your child or grandchild is eligible for a child trust fund (CTF): Avoid waste by taking advantage of the long-term tax free saving potential of CTFs.
