Where Do My Tax Dollars Go?

I hope that you were able to file your taxes on time and that you are getting a REFUND!

I always wonder what percentage of my tax dollars are going to pay for different programs or services.  I imagine you may wonder that also but I can in no way cover in this blog where all of the tax dollars (sales tax, income tax, property tax, social security tax, Medicare tax, fuel tax, estate tax, etc.) are allocated at the Federal, State and local levels.  I must remind you that I am not a tax expert and would never claim to be.  I have gathered the following information from cited sources.  If you find issue with any of the information I have stated below, please contact the cited source.

To find out a breakdown of where my Federal taxes are spent, I found an easy-to-use tool on the White House’s website.  In general, 24.64% of your Federal income tax goes to national defense, 22.45% to health care, 17.26%  to “Job and Family Security”, 3.30% to “Education and Job Training”, 4.53% to veterans benefits, 2.05% to “Natural Resources, Energy, and Environment”, 1.72% to “International Affairs”, 1.06% to “Science, Space, and Technology Programs”, 2.05% to “Immigration, Law Enforcement, and Administration of Justice”, 0.65% to “Agriculture”, 0.48% to “Community, Area, and Regional Development”, 0.43% to “Response to Natural Disasters”, 11.38% to “Additional Government Programs”, and finally 8.01% goes to “Net Interest”.  Click here to get additional details.

On to Wisconsin State property taxes.  In a program handout I received on REALTOR® & Government Day 2013 from the Wisconsin Realtors Association (WRA), property taxes in Wisconsin are allocated as follows: 45% goes to K-12 schools, 7% to technical colleges, 23% to Cities, Villages, or Towns, 19% to Counties, and 5% to “Special Districts (sewer, sanitary, lake protection, etc.).

I hope that you have found the allocation of our tax dollars interesting.  Homeowners, commercial property owners, and all property owners are very important to the well-being of our society.  Homeowners in particular pay for 70% of the tax burden in Wisconsin.  Without homeowners, we wouldn’t have the society we have today.  This is just one reason why homeownership is important.  Homeowners provide everyone with a better standard of living.  Whether you are a homeowner or wish to be one day and would like a personal consultation, please contact me.  Click here for my website.  And remember to subscribe to my blog.  Allow me to help you navigate the kettles and hills of real estate.  –Adrienne Killey, REALTOR®