12 June, 2007

Where America’s taxes go

Nandz writes in to point me to an excellent graphic representation of where America’s taxes go. He wonders if I could do one for India.

Well, I’d actually once contemplated building a “Where Your Taxes Go” calculator, where you could feed in the amount you pay as tax, and get an itemized breakup of where that money is spent. It would be personal and easy to relate to, and would illustrate beautifully the extent to which our taxes are wasted. Sadly, I don’t think there is enough public data to be able to do this accurately. If you think otherwise, and believe that it can be built, feel free to write to me.

(Where your taxes go: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. Also see: 1, 2, 3.

My essays on taxes and government: Your maid funds Unani, A beast called government.)