Google and Eyebeam created a challenge this year to make it easier for US citizens to understand where their federal income tax dollars go. Today, being the day federal taxes are due, made for a fitting day to reveal the finalists over at www.datavizchallenge.org.
Every year, Americans fill out income tax forms and make a payment to the IRS. It’s an important civic duty, but it is also a lot of money. Where does it all go? Using data provided by WhatWePayFor.com, we challenged artists, coders, and the general public to create data visualizations that would make it easier for U.S. citizens to understand how the government spends our tax money.
You can see all entries or check out just the winners. There are some other clever projects, so be sure to check them out. Here’s what the grand prize winner looks like:
It allows you to generate a dynamic infographic based on how much you made in 2009 and answering whether you filed single or married which then tells you where that money went.
Another way to find out where your money went comes from WhiteHouse.gov itself. You can enter your tax information into the site to generate your Federal Taxpayer Receipt. You can also see behind the numbers to get the current administrations angle on how this money is being spent.