Understanding Taxes

You're making $280 a week! At the end of your first week, you get your paycheck, rip it open, and . . . Woah!!!. It must be a mistake: Your check is missing a big chunk of change.

You think: What the heck is going on around here? What kind of chintzy outfit am I working for? What kind of two-bit . . . Hold on! Your employer has just taken out the taxes you owe. You may be a teen, you may not even have a permanent job, but you have to pay taxes on the money you earn.

Look at it this way: To earn your paycheck at the music store, you rely on the government for roads to get to work, police to protect your hard-earned cash, and laws to ensure you are treated fairly. You even rely on the government to protect the copyright of the musicians whose CDs you sell; otherwise there would be no music store or music industry. Tax dollars pay for a whole lot of stuff we take for granted. Everyone who earns money has a part to play, and to pay.

 source: http://www.irs.gov