Where our taxes go and other fun tax graphics

Everybody recovered from their Tax Day hangovers? Good!

How about some post-filing fun? Check out the chart below from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities detailing where the money we pay Uncle Sam goes:

That's just one of the Center's top 10 tax-related charts that the nonprofit put together for Tax Day 2012.

"Together, [the 10 charts] provide useful context for the coming debates about how to reduce soaring budget deficits and reform the tax code," says Chuck Marr, director of Federal Tax Policy at the CBPP.

But the graphic fun doesn't stop there.

Derek Thompson, senior editor at The Atlantic, says taxes are awesome. He explains:

"If you care about national values, or the relationship of citizens to their government, or the way we choose to award and discourage behavior, there is nowhere better to start than the gnarled and fascinating world of levies and tax breaks. Tax week gives American families a reason to consider moving to Bermuda, but it also gives me an excuse to spend the day finding my favorite, most controversial, and most illuminating graphs about taxes."

Thompson found 11 tax charts, including the CBPP visual above. One of my fave's from his collection is via The Economist using data from KPMG.

As you can see, effective tax rates in the United States are less than Australia, Canada and just about every country in Europe except, of course, those secret bank account folks in Switzerland.

As we now focus on our 2012 taxes, give the graphics a look see. They could come in handy as we focus on the presidential discussions (yeah, let's be optimistic that we can talk about it like grownups) about taxes and our 2012 IRS bills.

You also might find these items of interest:

• Your tax receipt from the White House
• Where your federal tax dollars went, are going
• How Uncle Sam spends our tax dollars