Third Way has published A Taxpayer Receipt, by David Kendall & Jim Kessler:
Corn syrup, milk chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, coconut, almond, soy lecithin… any consumer can read these ingredients and their nutritional value on every package of a 75-cent Almond Joy. What is provided to a taxpayer with a $5,400 tax bill? Nothing. For many Americans, the amount they pay in taxes is larger than any purchase they make during the year, but studies show they know almost nothing about where that money goes to. This contributes to ridiculous beliefs, like the view that 20% of government spending goes to foreign aid, for example. An electorate unschooled in basic budget facts is a major obstacle to controlling the nation’s deficit, not to mention addressing a host of economic and social problems. We suggest that everyone who files a tax return receive a “taxpayer receipt.” This receipt would tell them to the penny what their taxes paid for based on the amount they paid in federal income taxes and FICA. …
Below is an example of what a receipt might look like for a typical taxpayer with a 2009 U.S. median income of $34,140, who paid $5,400 in federal income tax and FICA.
(Hat Tip: Francine Lipman, Ann Murphy, NPR.)
19 responses to “Should the IRS Give Taxpayers an Itemized Receipt?”
Rather than a receipt, I might prefer a tax schedule allowing taxpayers to allocate their taxes to the various programs, with a column to indicate what percent that they want going to each program. That might end government programs like spending $27 million for changing road signs in NYC from all upper case to upper and lower case.
If you add up all those items listed on that receipt, they fall significantly short of the $5400 total taxes, so there is something seriously wrong with the Third Way’s analysis.
O’s transparent government would never go along … too much transparency.
Assuming that this hypothetical taxpayer earning $34,140 and paying $5400 in federal income tax and FICA does not receive benefits from Social Security, Medicare, and/or Medicaid and is not a veteran, I can’t imagine he’d be terribly amused to learn that the first line item that might directly benefit him would be the $69.36 that goes to the National Parks: “What?! I paid $5400 in federal taxes so I can go look at some scruffy buffalo and dying pine trees?!”
So yeah, I absolutely agree, we should receive an itemized receipt. The average taxpayer would be stunned to see how little direct benefit they receive for all the taxes they pay. Especially for those young folks who are aware that they’re unlikely to ever receive any significant benefits from Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I can’t imagine a better way to fan the flames of outrage over federal spending.
That only adds up to about $3000. I presume the other $2000 is stuff that would be flagrantly ridiculous so they don’t want to list it. Let’s cut everything else. A 40% reduction in federal spending has never been so painless.
The first thing I noticed is there is about $2000 missing from that receipt. I see the topnote about “selected items”. Not only are these people nuts, they are dishonest.
Tables like that are at best useless, and at worst, a deliberate attempt to conceal the problem.
Example: it does no good at all to say that $63 went to “Federal Highways” because they are not telling you that it could have been $37 for the same result — except that every recipient has to be unionized, and we’re overpaying for all the asphalt because the manufacturers are campaign contributors, and we’re hiring 3x more police details than we need for obvious reasons, and we’re still paying 6-figure retirement/health benefits of highway supervisors who retired in 1988.
While not ‘itemized’, near the back in the annual 1040 instructions are pie charts of the previous tax year showing tax income and spending outlays with explanations of what each section constitutes. Just how many people pay any attention to those charts?
I don’t suppose that FICA amount includes the additional funds paid into the system by the taxpayer’s employer….
I did a little research on the SSA site estimating social security payouts versus the estimated value of a $2000/year invesement over 44 years with a 5% rate of return (tax free). The value of the SSA payout from age 62 is about 60% of what you’d get if you invested your own money and then started paying a 30 year annuity back at the same age. Seems like a raw deal to me.
After a quick scan of the breakdown, I see about a third of them that I’d like to eliminate. And that 19 cent expenditure should be cut to under 10 cents.
Instead, they should send each citizen an invoice for their share of the accumulated national debt plus the amount of new debt they’ve incurred from this year’s deficit
We have to give them itemized receipts, so it sorta makes sense.
Alternatively, we could just put that chart up on the Net somewhere.
There are a few good links at the bottom of the Third Way document.
I thought most if not all of the taxes (FICA) went to pay the interest on debt. Of course, that’s an interest payment to the private bankers. Right?
I’m guessing that doesn’t include the employer contribution. Add that in, and it becomes even worse.
That missing money? It’s going for all those black programs: you know, like Men in Black? CIA hit squads, etc.
The amounts for social security & medicare on $34,140 don’t make sense either.
If you keep your receipts, will you be able to return a defective product?
A policy outfit called “Third Way” thinks we would be much happier with our government if only we got a…
If you keep your receipts, will you be able to return a defective product?
A policy outfit called “Third Way” thinks we would be much happier with our government if only we got a…
If you keep your receipts, will you be able to return a defective product?
A policy outfit called “Third Way” thinks we would be much happier with our government if only we got a…
If you keep your receipts, will you be able to return a defective product?
A policy outfit called “Third Way” thinks we would be much happier with our government if only we got a…
If you keep your receipts, will you be able to return a defective product?
A policy outfit called “Third Way” thinks we would be much happier with our government if only we got a…
If you keep your receipts, will you be able to return a defective product?
A policy outfit called “Third Way” thinks we would be much happier with our government if only we got a…
If you keep your receipts, will you be able to return a defective product?
A policy outfit called “Third Way” thinks we would be much happier with our government if only we got a…
If you keep your receipts, will you be able to return a defective product?
A policy outfit called “Third Way” thinks we would be much happier with our government if only we got a…
If you keep your receipts, will you be able to return a defective product?
A policy outfit called “Third Way” thinks we would be much happier with our government if only we got a…