What type of tax is used by Congress and the federal government to pay for operating expenses?

Answer 1

Many taxes are used by the federal government to pay for its operating expenses. These taxes include income taxes, social security taxes, unemployment taxes, and excise taxes.

Answer 2

The federal government raises trillions of dollars in tax revenue each year, though there are many different kinds of taxes. Some taxes fund specific government programs, while other taxes fund the government in general. When all taxes for a given year are insufficient to cover all of the government's expenses-which is often the case1- the U.S. Treasury borrows money to make up the difference.

Total federal tax revenues in fiscal year 2014 are projected to be $3 trillion.2 These revenues come from three major sources: income taxes paid by individuals, accounting for 46 percent of all tax revenues; payroll taxes paid jointly by workers and employers, accounting for 34 percent; and corporate income taxes paid by businesses, making up 11 percent. There are also a handful of other types of taxes like customs duties and excise taxes that make up much smaller portions of federal revenue. Customs duties are taxes on imports, paid by the importer, while excise taxes are taxes levied on specific goods, like gasoline. This pie chart below shows how much each of these revenue sources are expected to bring in during fiscal year 2014.