Why Do We ‘File’ Taxes?

The first thing to understand is that the government needs money to function.

Just like you or I need money to live our lives, the government needs money to provide the services that we all rely on: things like defense, education, healthcare, and infrastructure. In order to raise this money without resorting to things like robbery or national lotteries (both of which are technically illegal), they collect taxes from the citizens.

The second thing to understand is that not everyone pays the same amount in taxes.

The amount of tax you pay depends on a variety of factors, including how much money you make, what kind of job you have, whether or not you own a home, and so on. The government uses this information to calculate how much tax you owe based on your “tax bracket.”