Paying Taxes
Taxes are required payments of money to the government. You may be wondering why we pay taxes. Taxes are necessary because they pay for things that most individuals could not possibly purchase for themselves, such as fire protection, schools, roads and much more. There are many different types of taxes: federal income tax, state income tax, property tax, excise tax (tax on tobacco, alcohol, gas), social security tax and sales tax. Each type of tax pays for different public programs and services. For example, federal taxes pay for F.B.I. agents, Medicare doctors, federal judges, national park rangers, veteran’s benefits, federal prisons and much more. Some of the things that state taxes pay for include state highways, universities, public schools, state parks and police officers.
