What do taxes pay for?

Answer 1

See the "Grace Commission Report".

The report said that 100% of what is collected is absorbed solely by interest on the National Debt, and by federal government contributions and transfer payments. In other words all individual tax return revenue is gone before one nickel is spent on services that taxpayers expect from their government. These services are funded by new loans made by the Federal Reserve to Congress.

Another Perspective

Taxes pay for government programs the help people, government programs that support research of all kinds, education at all levels, early intervention programs, medicare, social security, public libraries, hospitals, roads, bridges, school buildings, parks, neighborhood clinics, medical assistance for the poor, education grants and loans, snowplowing, water systems, sanitation facilities, waste- collection and disposal, fire departments, police departments, CIA, FBI, IRS, ACE, FEMA, national parks, teachers, military, defense, military bases, build and maintain, government facilities, foreign aid, federal census, food stamps, judiciary, state and federal courts, and so many other necessary and unnecessary things.