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Tax Day is here, with federal and state income tax returns required to be filed before the end of day Monday, April 15.
That leaves little time for those procrastinators who wait until the last moment to settle up with Uncle Sam.
And as we ponder Tax Day 2024, it's good to realize and understand just how our tax dollars are being spent.
Currently, more than half of the federal budget comes directly from personal income taxes -- those taxes taken directly from your paycheck. Another 30% comes from other payroll taxes such as social security, according to the Tax Policy Center. And just under 10% of all federal tax collected comes from corporate income taxes, with the rest for a mix of other sources.
And the federal budget is huge -- and growing. The fiscal 2021 budget, introduced in February 2020, just before COVID-19 hit, was $4.8 trillion. President Joe Biden's proposed fiscal 2025 budget comes in at $7.3 trillion.
That's a 33% increase in just four years. That's also an increase of $1.5 trillion over the proposed $5.8 trillion fiscal 2024 budget Biden introduced last year.
Tax time is always a good time to think about how you can work with our federal lawmakers to get government spending under control. And while you're pondering how to do that, don't forget to file your taxes.