It's Tax Day! Hope everyone finished and got their taxes in on time. They even gave us a few extra days this year! What will you be spending YOUR tax refund on! Or are you writing the depressing check TO the goverment?
I pulled this out of a readers digest several months ago. It's quite interesting.
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Where Your Taxes Go
A U.S. taxpayer earning in the 2009 median income ($34,140) and paying $5,400 in federal income tax and FICA ponies up for the following, for starters:
Social Security: $1,040.70
Medicare: $625.51
Medicaid: $385.28
Interest on the national debt: $287.03
Combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan: $229.17
Military personnel: $192.79
Veterans benefits: $74.65
Federal highways: $63.89
Health-care research (NIH): $46.54
Foreign aid: $46.08
Education funding for low income students: $38.17
Military retirement benefits: $32.60
Pell Grants for low-income college students: $29.75
NASA space program: $28.09
Internal Revenue Service: $17.69
Environmental cleanup (EPA): $11.67
FBI: $11.21
Head Start: $10.91
Public housing: $10.50
National parks: $4.27
Drug Enforcement Administration: $3.14
Amtrak: $2.23
Smithsonian Museum: $1.12
Funding for the arts: $0.24
Salaries and benefits for members of Congress: $0.19
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I thought it was quite interesting. Wouldn't it be interesting to have a goverment who didn't need to spend so many resources on military? What if the focus was just on the people? Someday soon...
Got my taxes done back in February, out of the way and refund already spent :) I hate the rush on the week before taxes are due so I avoid it at all costs.
ReplyDeleteInteresting info about our tax dollars. Isn't it sad, though, that the US has enforcement on recycling and "going green" in most states but they only spend $4.27 on our national parks? Not to mention how much we spend on funding for the arts compared to how much of our money goes towards the war.