Budget Matters Blog


Where Your Taxes Went

This is where the federal government spent each one of your federal income tax dollars in 2011: Once we pay our income taxes, they're designated by the U.S. Treasury as "federal funds," which means Congress and the president can use that money to fund just about any government activity. This ...


Data Story: Tax Collections, Simplified

We recently took some data from the IRS and made it even better.


Why the Top Marginal Tax Rate Will Never Bother You

If you're anything like me, it's because you simply don't make enough money to be taxed at the top marginal rate. A “marginal rate” is the rate at which your last dollar of earned-income is taxed. These “marginal dollars” are the dollars at the very upper edge of your income. ...

DC Speak: Tax Cuts for Everybody!

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }a:link { } By Samantha Dana This week there was a lot of media coverage of the tentative agreement reached between the Obama Administration and congressional Republicans to extend the Bush-era tax cuts. The agreement came after the GOP leadership announced its intention to block any ...