Tax freedom day, the day average Canadians have paid off the year’s tax load and begin working for themselves, arrives Saturday, according to the Fraser Institute.

The think-tank said today that federal and provincial governments are letting Canadians keep four days’ worth of earnings more than last year.

Niels Veldhuis, the Fraser Institute’s director of fiscal studies, says Canadians spend almost half the year working to pay all the various taxes levied on them by federal, provincial and local governments.

Effectively, “every dollar they earn before June 14 would be required to pay the taxes owing to all levels of government,” says Veldhuis.

The taxes used to calculate tax freedom day includes income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, profit taxes, health, social security and employment taxes, import duties, licence fees, taxes on alcohol and tobacco, natural resource fees, fuel taxes, hospital taxes and an array of other levies.

Thanks to the reduction of the goods and services tax and trimming of various provincial taxes, this year’s tax freedom day falls four days earlier than in 2007.

That in turn was five days sooner than in 2006, which followed a two-day gain from the latest-ever tax freedom day — June 25 in 2005.

“Even with the recent improvements, tax freedom day still falls 40 days later than in 1961, the earliest year for which we have calculations,” Veldhuis says.

“Given the number of different taxes imposed on Canadians, it is virtually impossible to know exactly how much tax we pay,” he adds.

Tax freedom day varies by province: Alberta on May 28, New Brunswick on June 3, Prince Edward Island June 4, Manitoba June 8, Ontario June 9, Nova Scotia June 12, British Columbia June 13, Quebec June 19, Saskatchewan June 20, and Newfoundland and Labrador June 30.

The Fraser Institute calculates that the average Canadian family of two or more will earn $90,678 this year and pay $40,667 in taxes – 44.8% of total income.

It also says the tax system is “effectively progressive,” as the most affluent 30% of Canadians receive 59.7% of all income and pay 66.6% of all taxes, while the bottom 30% receives 9.1% of all income and pays 4.7% of total taxes.