Today is 'Tax Freedom Day', the moment when UK workers start to see their earnings go into their own pockets rather than used to pay taxes to the government, according to calculations from the Adam Smith Institute (ASI).

The think-tank works out the date by measuring local taxes, direct and indirect national taxes and NICs as a proportion of the UK's net national income. This year that came to 41.5%, which was then mapped onto the days of the year.

By arriving on 30 May, Tax Freedom Day is a day later than last year and the latest it has fallen in the calendar since 2006.

The ASI's director, Dr Eamonn Butler, said: 'We put in every tax, including stealth taxes - income tax, national insurance, council tax, excise duties, air passenger taxes, fuel and vehicle taxes and all the rest - and show just how long the average person has to work to pay their share of them all. The stark truth is that this burden costs us all 150 days of hard labour every year.'

In comparison, taxpayers in France have to wait until July before they are working for themselves, while the equivalent tax-free date in the US and Australia comes as early as mid-April.

The ASI has also calculated the 'cost of government day', which assesses how much expenditure in the economy is down to the state alone, before any contribution from households, businesses or charities. This year it will fall on 13 July, two days earlier than in 2012, due to the effects of the government's austerity programme.