Taxes on the American family increased for the third straight year in 1996, according to a new Tax Foundation report.

Economist Arthur P. Hall calculated the tax burden for a median income family with one or two earners. He found that:

• Total taxes this year for a two-earner family are projected to increase to 38.4 percent of income, up from 38.1 percent in 1995.

• For a single-earner family, total taxes are projected to increase to 36.4 percent from 36.1 percent in 1995.

These tax-burden levels rival the highest ever, says Hall. For a dual-income family, the only years in which total taxes as a percent of income were higher than 38.4 percent were in the years 1980 to 1982. Furthermore, in inflation-adjusted dollars, the $21,883 total tax burden projected for a dual-earner family with the median income in 1996 will be the highest ever. Real total taxes have more than tripled since 1955 for the typical two-income family.

Source: Arthur P. Hall, "Economic Expansion Leads to Higher Taxes on Median One- and Two-Earner American Families," Special Report No. 65, November 1996, Tax Foundation, 1250 H Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20005, (202) 783-2760.

For more information see Bruce Bartlett's analysis, "Fighting the Rising Tax Burden" at http://www.ncpa.org/pi/taxes/bartlett.html