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This Tax Day, the federal government expects to rake in $945 billion in individual income tax payments from U.S. taxpayers. According to the Tax Foundation, the average American worked 32 days last year just to pay their income tax bill from Uncle Sam, and that doesn’t even include federal Social Security, Medicare or unemployment insurance programs, or any state or local tax burdens. As taxpayers across the nation rush to calculate their share of taxes and say a final goodbye to some of their hard-earned dollars, the same question crosses the minds of many Americans: “What is the government doing with all of this money?” Unfortunately, the answer is rarely anything useful, responsible, necessary, constitutional, valuable or meaningful.  With many states mandated to balance their budgets and many state legislatures reluctant to cut wasteful government spending, states and localities have recently begun going after the popular and fast-growing digital goods industry ("apps", song and movie downloads, and eBooks) as a source of new tax-revenue for their coffers.  The United States needs a national framework that would prevent consumers from being taxed more than once. This means more clarity for states and more protection for consumers.  So, in honor of tax day, The Taxpayers Protection Alliance has identified 10 outrageous federal expenditures that cost taxpayers dearly, while providing little benefit in return.

Many people may not know it but this week (March 4 through March 10) is National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW).  According to the official website, NCPW   “is a coordinated campaign that encourages consumers nationwide to take full advantage of their consumer rights and make better-informed decisions.”  There is no better to protect consumers than to safeguard them from the deluge of new and confusing taxes that confront consumers every single day. With many states mandated to balance their budgets and many state legislatures reluctant to cut wasteful government spending, states and localities have recently begun going after the popular and fast-growing digital goods industry ("apps", song and movie downloads, and eBooks) as a source of new tax-revenue for their coffers.