Wondering where your tax dollars go? There’s an app for that.
With many Americans scrambling to pay their taxes before April 18, the White House launched an online tool that lets people see where their tax dollars are going.
The White House’s Federal Tax Receipt tool allows taxpayers to enter their tax information and gives back an breakdown of which general areas of government get what amount.
It also comes as President Obama has launched a full-scale war against the Republican Party over the nation’s tax policy and tax cuts for the wealthy.
In his weekly radio address, Obama hailed the new tool, saying “for the first time ever there’s a way for you to see exactly how and where your tax dollars are spent and what’s really at stake in this debate.”
A look at the site reveals a breakdown of the biggest use of American taxpayer dollars, which begins with 26 percent of federal tax dollars going to national defense spending.
Healthcare spending comes in second at 24 percent, and “job and family security” comes in third at almost 22 percent. That includes unemployment insurance, food assistance programs and housing assistance programs.
The next highest percentage of federal tax dollars spent is “education and job training,” which comes in at less than 5 percent.
Sen. Bill Nelson’s (D-Fla.) office hailed the new tool, saying it was similar to a proposal Nelson and Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) proposed as legislation last month.
The group Third Way, which proposed the same idea last year, also hailed the new tool in a release.
“Given the gross distortions we are hearing in the budget debate, the Obama administration’s federal taxpayer receipt and their efforts for greater understanding and transparency are important,” the group said in a statement. “The taxpayer receipt is a simple but effective tool that will allow tax payers to see the truth about where their money is going.”
Try it on the White House website.
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