Finance 
No Comments Where did my tax dollars go?
This year I filed the 1040 online on TaxAct. It is a straight forward process which the online software makes very simple. Just a multitude of questions and the return is completed, ready to be signed and e-filed. The data (W-2, trades, etc.) can also be automatically pulled in through a limited number of supported sources. It took me about 2 hours to complete the process and within 12 hours the e-file status was accepted by the IRS. The actual refund was posted into my bank account by direct deposit about a week later. What could be more streamlined?
In Bangalore filing the yearly returns was even simpler. A tax consultant contracted by the Company prepared the returns and filed it with the IT department for a fee of around 4 dollars. The signature on paper replaced the clicks, the cheap human resource substituted for the online. The actual refund was a different matter and took a lot of time. Evidently, the government sector does not work very efficiently. After all time is money and hence money should be returned on time.
This tax filing season arose out of a bad financial recession and was accentuated with a Tea-Party season. I understand both sides of the debate but still who wouldn’t like lower taxes? Then I discovered that the budget of the city of San Francisco is about $8 billion. Well, I am trying to be understanding about that but come on … $8 billion? Where does all that money go? Is America the biggest economy of the world just because the people are consuming too much? I don’t have enough data on that but courtesy of TaxAct I do have the data about where does all my tax money go. The table below provides a summary of government tax spending percentages applied to the tax I paid in 2009:
Social Security, Medicare, and Other Retirement: 37%
National Defense: 20%
Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Related Programs: 14%
Physical, Human, and Community Development: 9%
Net Interest on the Debt: 8%
Unemployment and Social Services: 6%
Veterans and Foreign Affairs: 4%
Law Enforcement and General Government: 2%
Amazing statistics, aren’t they?