Tax Day - Where Is Your Money Going? | Attempts: 282

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| By National Priorit

National Priorit

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Quizzes Created: 5 | Total Attempts: 675

Questions: 7 | Attempts: 282 | Updated: Mar 15, 2023

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On April 17, 2012, your 2011 federal income tax return was due to the IRS. Where did the federal government spend those tax dollars?
The following questions ask how Congress and the president decided to spend each dollar of income-tax revenue.
At the end of the quiz you’ll have the opportunity to generate your own tax receipt to see how much of your own tax dollars go to different kinds of government spending.

Questions and Answers

1.

Which, of the following, does the U.S. Government spend the most of your tax dollars on?
- A.
  
  Interest on Debt
- B.
  
  Military
- C.
  
  Medicare & Health
- D.
  
  Education
Correct Answer
B. Military

Explanation
Explanation: Your federal income taxes become “federal funds” when they’re paid into the Treasury. However, federal funds do not directly correspond with discretionary spending. Federal fund revenue is far greater than discretionary spending. Billions of federal fund dollars pay for programs in the mandatory budget, such as Medicare. This is why tax dollar spending break down does not equal discretionary spending.

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2.

Of every income-tax dollar the U.S. Government spends, how many cents are spent on Social Security and Labor?
- A.
  
  12.2¢
- B.
  
  60.4¢
- C.
  
  5.8¢
- D.
  
  24.3¢
Correct Answer
A. 12.2¢

Explanation
Explanation: If you paid $1,000 in federal taxes in 2011, $122.00 (or roughly 12% of your taxes) went to Social Security, Unemployment and Labor. This includes $5.93 for TANF (welfare).

All of your payroll taxes fund Social Security and Medicare. But some federal income taxes also fund Medicare, and in 2011 due to the payroll tax holiday, some federal income taxes also funded Social Security. Since some of your income taxes funded Medicare and Social Security in 2011, those two programs show up in Tax Day.

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3.

The U.S. Government spends considerably more on the military than any other tax day expenditure. Of every income-tax dollar the U.S. Government spends, how many cents are spent on the military?
- A.
  
  11¢
- B.
  
  48¢
- C.
  
  27¢
- D.
  
  63¢
Correct Answer
C. 27¢

Explanation
Explanation: If you paid $1,000 in federal income tax in 2011, $270.00 (or roughly 27% of your taxes) went to the military, including $6.83 for nuclear weapons.

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4.

There is a .1 or one-tenth of a cent difference between how much of every income-tax dollar the U.S. Government spends for Veterans Benefits and Food & Agriculture. How much does the federal government spend on these two programs?
- A.
  
  72.2¢ and 72.3¢
- B.
  
  12.8¢ and 12.9¢
- C.
  
  23.5¢ and 23.6¢
- D.
  
  4.4¢ and 4.3¢
Correct Answer
D. 4.4¢ and 4.3¢

Explanation
Explanation: If you paid $1,000 in federal income tax in 2011, $44 (or roughly 4% of your taxes) paid for Veterans Benefits. This includes $3.66 for veterans education, training and rehab. $43 (again, roughly 4% of your taxes) paid for food and agriculture, including $26.89 for SNAP (Food Stamps).

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5.

There are 64 million primary and secondary school students in the United States. Of every tax dollar the U.S. Government spends how many cents are spent on education?
- A.
  
  10¢
- B.
  
  2.5¢
- C.
  
  15¢
- D.
  
  22¢
Correct Answer
B. 2.5¢

Explanation
Explanation: If you paid $1,000 in federal income tax in 2011, $25.00 (or roughly 2.5% of your taxes) was spent on education, including $0.15 for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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6.

The U.S. Government spends the least on science of all tax day expenditures. Of every tax dollar the U.S. Government spends how many cents are spent on science?
- A.
  
  0.5¢
- B.
  
  12¢
- C.
  
  6¢
- D.
  
  1¢
Correct Answer
D. 1¢

Explanation
Explanation: If you paid $1,000 in federal income tax in 2011, $10 (or roughly 1% of your taxes) funded science research including $5.90 for space flight research.

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7.

The U.S. federal debt is around $15 trillion dollars. Of every income-tax dollar spent by the U.S. Government, how much is spent on interest on this debt?
- A.
  
  14.5¢
- B.
  
  50¢
- C.
  
  5¢
- D.
  
  76.2¢
Correct Answer
A. 14.5¢

Explanation
Explanation: If you paid $1,000 in federal income tax in 2011, $145.00 is paid for interest on the federal debt.

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Current Version
Mar 15, 2023

Quiz Edited by
ProProfs Editorial Team
Apr 19, 2012

Quiz Created by
National Priorit

Tax Day - Where Is Your Money Going?

Which, of the following, does the U.S. Government spend the most of your tax dollars on?

Of every income-tax dollar the U.S. Government spends, how many cents are spent on Social Security and Labor?

The U.S. Government spends considerably more on the military than any other tax day expenditure. Of every income-tax dollar the U.S. Government spends, how many cents are spent on the military?

There is a .1 or one-tenth of a cent difference between how much of every income-tax dollar the U.S. Government spends for Veterans Benefits and Food & Agriculture. How much does the federal government spend on these two programs?

There are 64 million primary and secondary school students in the United States. Of every tax dollar the U.S. Government spends how many cents are spent on education?

The U.S. Government spends the least on science of all tax day expenditures. Of every tax dollar the U.S. Government spends how many cents are spent on science?

The U.S. federal debt is around $15 trillion dollars. Of every income-tax dollar spent by the U.S. Government, how much is spent on interest on this debt?