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The U.S. Federal Budget Breakdown For Your Tax Money in 2016 – Infographic

With the first primary elections just a few short months away, it’s been interesting to hear the would-be presidential candidates take on taxes. Some are proposing to tax the rich at a higher rate to fund the federal budget while others highlight the virtues of cutting taxes on the middle class. Once again it appears the “take-more-money-from-the-people” or “give-money-back-to-the-people” debate will be a central theme in the 2016 presidential race.

monopoly luxury taxGenerally speaking, we like to keep the money for which we work so hard. Nobody in my circle of friends is saying of a tax increase, “Sure, I’d be happy to…take another 5% out of my paycheck to fund the government. I don’t mind.” Know anyone who thinks that way? I don’t.

Regardless on how you feel about taxes, they do allow our government to function. It’s every American’s responsibility to pay taxes into the government’s budget. If you don’t well, let’s just say there could be some serious consequences (i.e. big fines and/or potential jail time). After several years now of living with a CPA in the house, I’ve come to appreciate (#fear) the tenacity with which the IRS takes its job.

Have you ever wondered where your tax dollars really go though? How does the government use your tax dollars in the federal budget? The people at Community Tax have researched that question and put their findings into the following infographic.

2016 U.S. Federal Budget Breakdown

Questions: What stands out to you about the U.S. federal budget breakdown in this infographic? Is there an area of the federal budget that you would take money away from or add to? Does it bother  you that your tax dollars are used to fund stadiums? What about researching whether elephants can sniff out bombs…does that seem silly to you?
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Comments

  1. This is fascinating!! My biggest issue with the breakdown is that the bulk of our tax dollars go to inefficient and poorly run programs like medicare. I am all for supporting healthcare for others, but as a child of healthcare professionals, I see firsthand just how poorly the programs are run and I would rather have every dollar spent there used efficiently rather than wasted. I guess the same applies for most government programs. They make sense overall, but in reality, they are poorly run which just means our tax dollars are wasted.

    • I agree 100% Shannon. Spend smarter, not more. I think the real issue comes down to accountability in Washington, but that’s a whole other conversation in its own right.

  2. Ok the things at the bottom of this infographic (like the elephant study and the Superman movie) are blowing my mind a little bit. I think maybe the government needs a board of directors or something to help curb purely ridiculous spending. But this is a really interesting infographic and does a really good job of illustrating something that I think it’s otherwise difficult to wrap your mind around. Thanks for sharing!

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