Taxes - How the Government Spends Your Tax Dollars

When you pay a tax, whether it's a sales tax, income tax, or road toll, the money is transferred from the private sector to the public sector. What’s the purpose? We pay taxes so we can have all those goods and services that you think the government should provide. Really, you are just shifting your money from you to the government in order for them to fund the services that we use every day.

And what are those services? Many things we couldn't imagine living without on a daily basis like roads, schools, and health care are funded through our tax dollars. Who decides where to spend this money? We all do by voicing our opinions to our elected officials.

Types of Taxes

In this presentation, you'll look at three categories of taxes under which all taxes fall. Politicians often call upon one or more of these three tax categories when debating how various tax policies may affect citizens.

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The U.S. government utilizes a federal income tax that is progressive and redistributes income from wealthier people to poorer people in order to create a safety net and alleviate poverty. In addition to taxation policies, the government may also use social service programs to redistribute income directly.

What Do Taxes Fund?

Where do all those tax dollars go? How does the government decide what programs to fund? Where does the government get the right to tax people anyway? Watch this presentation to explore the answers to all these questions and to learn more about the process of taxation.

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