The federal tax burden is now the greatest in history, according to the latest data from the Commerce Department.

• Federal taxes as a share of the gross domestic product (GDP) reached 20.8 percent in the second quarter of 1996.

• The federal government took $1,572.5 billion out of GDP of $7,547.6 billion.

• In only four previous years were federal revenues as high as 20.5 percent of GDP, and three of those were peaks during wars -- World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

• The fourth year was 1981, when inflation pushed federal tax revenues to 20.7 percent of GDP.

The new figures are higher in part due to higher-than-expected capital gains receipts resulting from the rising stock market. However, the current level is consistent with a rising trend since the 1993 Clinton tax increase.

Taxes as a share of GDP is the best overall measure of the burden of taxation, says former Treasury official Bruce Bartlett, since all taxes are ultimately paid by individuals.

Source: Bruce Bartlett (Senior Fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis), "Tax Bite That Keeps On Growing," Washington Times, September 23, 1996.