《西方经济学》习题答案—答案12.docVIP

SOLUTIONS TO TEXT PROBLEMS: Quick Quizzes 1. The two most important sources of tax revenue for the federal government are the individual income tax and payroll taxes. The two most important sources of tax revenue for state and local governments are sales taxes and property taxes. 2. The efficiency of a tax system refers to how low the costs are of collecting a given amount of tax revenue. One tax system is more efficient than another if the same amount of tax revenue can be raised at a lower cost. A tax system can be inefficient because of the deadweight losses that result when taxes distort the decisions that people make and because of the administrative burdens that taxpayers bear as they comply with the tax laws. An efficient tax system has low deadweight losses and small administrative burdens. 3. The benefits principle is the idea that people should pay taxes based on the benefits they receive from government services. It tries to make public goods similar to private goods by making those who benefit more from the public good pay more for it. The ability-to-pay principle is the idea that taxes should be levied on a person according to how well that person can shoulder the burden. It tries to equalize the sacrifice each person makes toward paying taxes. Vertical equity is the idea that taxpayers with greater ability to pay taxes should pay larger amounts. Horizontal equity is the idea that taxpayers with similar abilities to pay taxes should pay the same amount. Studying tax incidence is important for determining the equity of a tax system because understanding how equitable the tax system is requires understanding the indirect effects of taxes. In many cases, the burden of the tax is borne by people other than those who actually pay the tax. Questions for Review 1. Over the past several decades, government has grown more rapidly than the rest of the economy. The ratio of government revenue to GDP has increased over time. 2. The