Former President Donald Trump proposed earlier this month increasing U.S. defense spending by roughly 40% while cutting other government programs by a total of 10%. Trump also said that talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan over the next two days. The proposal comes as Pentagon officials told lawmakers in March that they estimated the cost of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran had exceeded $11.3 billion in its first six days.

A report from the Institute for Policy Studies found that about $4,049 of the average taxpaying household's federal income taxes went to military-related spending in 2025, up from $3,707 in 2024. Of that amount, approximately $1,870 went to Pentagon contractors, $770 went to military personnel, $130 went to nuclear weapons, and $57 went to aid to foreign militaries. The report's calculations did not include the cost of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

By comparison, according to the same report, $2,492 of the average taxpayer's federal income taxes went to Medicaid, which provided health coverage to 68.5 million Americans in 2025, and $2,207 went to Medicare. Other allocations included $607 to the Department of Education, $396 to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, $179 to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $131 to the Environmental Protection Agency, $79 to Customs and Border Protection, $39 to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and $19 to the U.S. Postal Service. The analysis was based on an average tax filing unit with a total taxable income of $104,000 and drew on public data from the Internal Revenue Service and the Office of Management and Budget.

The spending proposal comes as polling data indicate broad public dissatisfaction with tax levels. A March Fox News poll found that 70% of registered voters surveyed believe their taxes are too high, up 11 points from the previous year. In the same survey, 29% said they were concerned with how the government spends their tax dollars, and 38% said the wealthy are not paying enough in taxes. A January Pew Research Center poll found that 60% of Americans believe they pay more than their fair share in taxes, up from 56% in 2023 and roughly 50% in 2019 and 2021. A separate March poll found that about 60% of Americans say their taxes are too high, a finding consistent in the annual poll since 2023.

Tax cuts passed by Republicans last year exempted tip income and provided an expanded tax deduction for seniors, and some taxpayers are receiving larger refunds this year as a result. U.S. consumer prices increased by 0.9% in March from the previous month and by 3.3% year-over-year. At least 88 of the largest U.S. corporations paid no federal corporate income taxes in their most recent fiscal year, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.