https://padlet.com/zoe_smith8/93tmrfl6kz3e5oau Financing the Federal Government. en-us 2021-02-10 18:29:34 UTC 2021-02-10 19:21:28 UTC hello@padlet.com zoe_smith8 https://padlet.com/zoe_smith8/93tmrfl6kz3e5oau/wish/1189126626 "The ways in which the federal government collects and spends money reflect many economic goals. The nation’s budget is its plan for how much revenue it expects to take in and how it plans to spend money. The budget is created by elected and appointed officials in the executive and legislative branches, along with their staff. The budget reflects their values and the needs of their constituents. Staff members in each branch play a big role, too, as do special interest groups who want the budget to favor their priorities (CHP 21.1, page 2)." The budget is balanced when revenue and spending are equal. When there's extra money left, it's called a budget surplus. Almost every year, however, the federal government spends more than it takes in, creating a budget deficit. When there's a deficit in the federal government, the government borrows money to pay its bills. The total amount of money that the government takes in but does not give back in our nations history is called the national debt. "Every year, the government creates a budget that predicts revenue and controls spending for that year. In the case of the federal budget, the year does not begin on January 1. Instead, it begins October 1 and runs through the following September 30. This is called the fiscal year, or FY. It takes a long time to make the federal budget plan. Typically, the government begins preparing the budget well before the fiscal year begins. The executive and legislative branches share in the responsibility of preparing the budget, though the Congress has more budgetary power overall (CHP 21.1, page 3)." ]]> 2021-02-10 18:49:38 UTC https://padlet.com/zoe_smith8/93tmrfl6kz3e5oau/wish/1189126626 zoe_smith8 https://padlet.com/zoe_smith8/93tmrfl6kz3e5oau/wish/1189230972 "The budget process begins with the president, executive agency leaders, and economic analysts from the White House. Each federal agency and department draws up a list of its own spending plans. Their budget plans express important political choices—because they aim to promote the administration’s policies and priorities. The department secretaries send their spending plans to the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which functions as part of the Executive Office of the President. OMB takes the first set of figures to the president, along with its analysis of the nation’s economic situation. The OMB, along with the president’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) and the secretary of the treasury, confers with the president on the proposals. They make key decisions about the impact of the preliminary budget on the administration’s general economic policy and goals. They discuss such questions as: Will the budget increase or reduce federal spending? Which federal programs will be cut back and which programs will be expanded? Will the federal government need to borrow more money? Should taxes be raised or lowered (CHP 21.1, page 4)?" The White House returns its decisions on the budget to the agencies and departments with guidelines to help them revise their plans.For example, the Department of Defense might be told to cut its budget by $5 billion, and the Transportation Department might be told it can increase its budget by $1 billion. Over the next few months, the executive departments and agencies work on detailed budget plans that fit the president’s guidelines. During this time, OMB officials and agency heads negotiate cuts and additions to bring each agency’s budget in line with the president’s decisions.]]> 2021-02-10 19:08:35 UTC https://padlet.com/zoe_smith8/93tmrfl6kz3e5oau/wish/1189230972 zoe_smith8 https://padlet.com/zoe_smith8/93tmrfl6kz3e5oau/wish/1189252568 "Taxes are payments made by individuals and businesses to support government activities and provide government services. As you will learn, decisions about how to raise and spend government funds are almost always political. Every time a tax law is changed or created, someone wins and someone loses. Government officials, political parties, business leaders, and average citizens all have different ideas about taxes. When you think of taxes today, the individual income tax likely comes to mind. The individual income tax as we know it today is a relatively recent addition to our government, however. Until the 1890s, the federal government relied on tariffs, or taxes levied on imported goods, for revenue. These are also called customs duties or import duties. Congress has placed excise taxes on many goods. Excise taxes are taxes on the manufacture, transportation, sale, or consumption of goods and the performance of services—gas and cigarette taxes are excise taxes, for example. Early targets included taxes on horse carriages, snuff (smokeless tobacco), and liquor. The federal government imposes excise taxes to raise revenue or to protect domestic business and agriculture from foreign competition (CHP 21.2, page 2)." ]]> 2021-02-10 19:12:37 UTC https://padlet.com/zoe_smith8/93tmrfl6kz3e5oau/wish/1189252568 zoe_smith8 https://padlet.com/zoe_smith8/93tmrfl6kz3e5oau/wish/1189280814 There are five main types of federal taxes today: excise taxes, customs duties, estate and gift taxes, income taxes, and social insurance taxes. Excise taxes were an important source of government income for early America, but now they're not as  important. Today, excise taxes are imposed on gas, tobacco, liquor, airline tickets, and on some luxury goods. Customs duties, also called tariffs, are taxes on imported goods. Congress has the authority to decide which imports will be taxed and at what rate. Congress has also given the president authority to revise tariff rates through executive orders. In doing so, the president takes trade agreements with other nations into account. A high customs duty is called a protective tariff and is often popular with business, labor, and farm groups. "An estate tax is a tax on property and money left to others after someone has died. In 2013 the estate tax applied to estates worth more than $5,250,000. Sometimes people tried to avoid the estate tax by giving money to family and friends before they died. To prevent this from happening, Congress passed the gift tax, a tax a donor has to pay on money and property they give to others while they are still living. The final two types of taxes—income and social insurance or Social Security taxes—bring in the largest share of government revenue. Almost all working Americans pay income and social insurance taxes (CHP 21.2, page 3)." "Income tax deductions reduce the amount of someone’s income that is subject to tax. Exemptions are a privilege granted by government that legally excludes certain types of property, sales, or income from taxpaying obligations. Most states, for example, exempt educational and religious groups from paying property taxes. Over the years, railroads, airlines, farmers, businesses, builders, defense contractors, the unemployed, the elderly, and veterans have received tax exemptions (CHP 21.2, page 5)." ]]> 2021-02-10 19:18:07 UTC https://padlet.com/zoe_smith8/93tmrfl6kz3e5oau/wish/1189280814