Fighting for a U. Donate Now. Facebook Twitter. The federal government raises trillions of dollars in tax revenue each year, though a variety of taxes and fees. Some taxes fund specific government programs, while other taxes fund the government in general. When all taxes for a given year are insufficient to cover all of the government’s expenses — which has been the case in 45 out of the last 50 years 1 — the U. Treasury borrows money to make up the difference. There are also a handful of other types of taxes, like customs duties and excise taxes that make up much smaller portions of federal revenue. Customs duties are taxes on imports, paid by the importer, while excise taxes are taxes levied on specific goods, like gasoline. This pie chart below shows how much each of these revenue sources is expected to bring in during fiscal year