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"Why Taxes Matter?." Web. 8 Sept. 2012. . __ Facts __

__ 1. __Taxes are the biggest expenditure for many American families, who need to know how their money is being spent. 2.Some off-budget items aren't included, and the group uses simple cash-in, cash-out accounting rather than the more complex accrual method 3.The Tax Foundation, which favors cutting taxes, approves of the project. 4.At the Journal's request, Third Way prepared a receipt for the federal taxes of two couples, showing how much a selection of programs received. 5.To counter such misconceptions, a not-for-profit Washington-based group called Third Way has produced an itemized taxpayer receipt that helps show the spending issues the new Congress will face. 6.We tried to answer the questions a Republican and a Democrat sitting side by side would ask 7.The debt is like the unpaid balance on a credit card, and it's hard to say who will pay it or when 8.Over view of our tax receipt 9.Social security is at the top of the list for the most money spent. 10.Salaries and benefits for members of congress are at the bottom of the list. 11.repressively higher income tax rates – "taxing the rich" – cause many productive people to work less and retire earlier, draining the economy and destroying jobs 12.These stair-step tax rates also bump married couples into higher tax brackets, take an unfairly large chunk out of a one-time spike in income, and increase tax evasion. It has been said that democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner, and many sages have warned that the majority in a democracy may oppress the minority. 13.This was true of the income tax in 1913, it was true of the Alternative Minimum Tax in 1969, and it will be true of the tax increases that Congress is proposing right now. 14.Even the recent effort to give relief has backfired, giving us a complex phase-out and just one year’s repeal in 2010. It’s easy to see the stress this 12-month window puts on families with elderly or unhealthy estate holders. Similar tax provisions abroad caused a wave of falsified death certificates, and they raise truly disturbing ethical dilemmas for families and doctors, simply because of poorly designed federal tax policy. 15.The resulting boom of smuggling has spawned a wave of violent crime that includes murder and has diverted millions of dollars from honest businesses and government coffers into the pockets of criminals.