55) Social insurance taxes are paid by wages and investment income. 56) Unlike social insurance taxes income taxes are paid on wages only. 57) Estate and gift taxes account for a very small portion of total tax revenues collected by the federal government because taxes are levied only on large estates. 58) Corporate profits are taxed by state and local governments but not by the federal government. 59) Because the government has so much money and can print more it does not need to borrow and therefore rarely pays net interest on debt. 60) When federal government spending exceeds tax revenues the federal government runs a budget surplus. 61) When federal government spending amounts to less than tax revenues the federal government runs a budget deficit. 62) Taxes and transfer payments automatically reduce fluctuations in real GDP and thereby stabilize the economy without any need for decisions from Congress or the White House. 63) Fiscal actions to eliminate a recession are likely to decrease the federal budget deficit.
