Taxes are monies imposed on people or properties by governments for the purpose of generating income for public purposes. There are different kinds of taxes and some go into a general fund while others are dedicated to a specific purpose. The types of taxes include federal income taxes, Medicare income taxes, social security taxes, state income taxes, local taxes, investment taxes, property taxes, corporate taxes, and sales taxes to name the largest tax groups. Though taxes are not people's favorite topic, the fact is taxes are necessary to pay for the operation of federal, state, and local governments and their activities. Through governments do invest money and earn interest, by far the largest amount of the government income is generated by the imposition and collection of taxes.