Tax Deductions

So someone starts working at a job, and after their first week, they receive their first paycheck: They are overjoyed... only to discover that a large percentage of their own pay had to be deducted for tax-related issues, at which point they are angered. This is a Truth in Television.

Newspaper Comics

 * Subverted in FoxTrot, where Peter, when he mentions how much of his pay was cut when he received his first paycheck of his Summer Job, and Roger says "Welcome to the world of taxes," Peter reveals that not only was he not referring to Tax Deductions, but they actually pale in comparison to what he was talking about, which was deductions made from his eating while working the Snack Bar.
 * Dilbert seems to be very well aware of this trope, as when they have to give a new worker their first paycheck (a person who previously got paid in full for her jobs), He and Wally donned earmuffs to block out her screams of anguish when she learns about the amount that was deducted. It didn't save their coffee, though.

Live-Action Television

 * Friends: "Who is Fica and why is she getting all my money?"