Why Are Taxes Important?

The collection of taxes provides funding to support the infrastructure of government, which allows for the delivery of public services to individual states and the nation as a whole.

Local governmental units deliver services to its residents from its collection of local property, income and sales taxes. Much of the revenue derived from these taxes are used for police and fire protection, building schools, maintaining local roads, and protecting citizens against local health emergencies and neighborhood crime.

State governments use taxes to deliver public services such as maintaining a state militia or National Guard unit, assisting farmers with agricultural issues and managing a uniform state court system to coordinate local court systems. Tax collection also gives states the ability to provide social services to economically distressed and mentally disabled citizens and their families.

Taxes are essential to the operation and function of the federal government, which provides constitutional functions such as maintaining a standing military. Congressionally mandated programs, which allow for the provision of disaster relief, general health and national human service, education and health programs are accomplished mainly due to federal tax collection.