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U.S. Government > Test 7 Taxes > Flashcards

Test 7 Taxes Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a mandatory payment to a local, state, or national government?

A

a tax

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2
Q

What is government income from taxes and non-tax sources?

A

revenue

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3
Q

Where are the rights of government to tax set down?

A

in the U.S. Constitution and in state constitutions

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4
Q

What holds that people who benefit directly from public goods should pay for them in proportion to the amount of benefits received?

A

benefits-received principles of taxation

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5
Q

What holds that people should be taxed on their ability to pay, no matter the level of benefits they receive?

A

ability to pay principle of taxation

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6
Q

What are the three criteria that tax systems try to meet?

A

Equity
Simplicity
Efficiency

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7
Q

The equity, or _____, of a tax is established by how uniformly the tax is applied.

A

fairness

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8
Q

What is determined by how easy it is for the taxpayer to understand and how easy it is for the government to collect?

A

simplicity of a tax

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9
Q

What best meets the criterion of efficiency?

A

individual income tax

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10
Q

Government imposes taxes on various forms of income and wealth in order to raise the _____ to provide public goods and various other services.

A

revenue

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11
Q

A _______ is a form of wealth — such as income, property, goods, or services —- that is subject to taxes

A

tax base

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12
Q

What is individual tax based on?

A

income from all sources

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13
Q

What is corporate income tax based on?

A

a corporation’s profits

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14
Q

What is based on the value of goods or services at the time of sale?

A

sales tax

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15
Q

What is based on the value of an individual or business’s asset?

A

property tax

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16
Q

Homeowners and business owners pay property taxes based on the ______ of their buildings and the land on which the buildings stand.

A

value

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17
Q

Property tax may also be imposed on other assets such as _________.

A

automobiles

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18
Q

What kind of tax takes the same percentage of income from all taxpayers?

A

proportional tax

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19
Q

What kind of tax places a higher percentage rate of taxation on high income people?

A

progressive tax

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20
Q

What kind of tax takes a larger percentage of income from low income people?

A

regressive tax

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21
Q

States with flat taxes generally charge rates from _______ percent of income

A

3-5%

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22
Q

Cities and counties with proportional taxes charge about ____ percent of income

A

1-3%

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23
Q

In the U.S., the federal income tax is a ___________ tax, because tax rates increase as income increases.

A

progressive

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24
Q

Why are some taxes regressive?

A

because they are applied to sales, not income

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25
Q

What is the final burden of a tax?

A

incidence of a tax (impact of the tax on the taxpayer)

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26
Q

________ is the use of taxes to encourage or discourage certain economic behaviors.

A

a tax incentive

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27
Q

What taxes are often imposed on products or activities considered to be unhealthful or damaging to society, such as gambling, alcohol, and cigarettes?

A

sin

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28
Q

What is the largest source of taxes for the federal government?

A

individual income tax

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29
Q

The government began using the income tax after the ____________ to the constitution which occurred in 1913..

A

16th amendment

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30
Q

What kind of taxes are the second highest source of federal revenue?

A

social insurances

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31
Q

Who shares the burden of social insurances tax?

A

workers and employers

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32
Q

To make it easier for taxpayers and the government, a ____________ which is a tax taken from a worker’s paycheck— is collected

A

payroll tax

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33
Q

What is deducted from a paycheck as a withholding, or money taken from a worker’s pay before the worker receives it?

A

payroll tax

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34
Q

The ________ is the government agency that collects the money for the federal government and administers the federal tax system.

A

IRS

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35
Q

The federal income tax is a ___________ based on the ability-to-pay principle of taxation.

A

progressive tax

36
Q

Many taxpayers take a ________ deduction or ________ deductions, such as interest paid on a home mortgage, state, and local taxes, charitable contributions, and certain portion of medical expenses.

A

standard

itemized

37
Q

Each year, taxpayers must complete a _________, a form used to report income and taxes owed to various levels of government

A

tax return

38
Q

taxes have to be filed by what date each year?

A

april 15

39
Q

What is a payroll tax that provides coverage for the elderly, the unemployed due to disability, and surviving family members of wage earners who have died?

A

FICA Federal insurance contributions act

40
Q

_______ is also known as social insurance?

A

FICA

41
Q

FICA encompasses ___________ and _________.

A

Social Security and Medicare

42
Q

What is a federal program to aid older citizens who have retired, children who have lost a parent or both parents, and people with disabilities?

A

Social Security

43
Q

introduced in 1966, ________ is a national health insurance program for citizens over 65 and certain other groups of people

A

medicare

44
Q

________ is a program funded by federal and state taxes and administered by the states?

A

unemployment compensation

45
Q

What provides benefits for a certain period of time to employees who lose their jobs through no fault of their own?

A

unemployment

46
Q

What applies to the first $7000 earned by an employee?

A

unemployment tax

47
Q

under normal times, an individual can collect unemployment benefits for a maximum of _____ weeks.

A

26

48
Q

after the recession, Congress passed the emergency benefit program to extend the duration to collect unemployment to ______ weeks.

A

72

49
Q

What is the third largest source of tax revenue for the federal government?

A

Corporate income taxes

50
Q

What do tax breaks for corporations include:

A

deductions for investment in buildings, equipment, research, and rules that benefit multinational corporations

51
Q

Profits are taxed at the _________ level and again at the ________ level, since shareholders pay taxes on the income they receive in the form of dividends and capital gains.

A

corporate level

individual level

52
Q

What is a tax on property that is transferred to others on the death of the owner?

A

estate tax

53
Q

Most estates are not subject to this tax, because the government only taxes _______ estates.

A

large

54
Q

What is a tax on money or property given by one living person to another?

A

gift tax

55
Q

In Alabama, the maximum amount of gift you receive cannot be more than _________ per year, per individual.

A

$14,000

56
Q

_________ is a tax on the production or sale of a specific product, such as gasoline or telephone service

A

excise tax

57
Q

the government places excise taxes on goods or services for which there is relatively inelastic demand in order to maintain a steady stream of _______

A

revenue

58
Q

________ is a tax on goods imported into the United States from another country

A

the customs duty tax

59
Q

customs duties are basically excise taxes on _______ and are also known as tariffs

A

imports

60
Q

__________ is money charged for the use of a good or service

A

user fee

61
Q

Who charges entrance, parking, and camping fees to visitors to national parks?

A

the federal government

62
Q

the programs and services the federal government finds with tax revenue are divided into two categories:

A

mandatory spending

discretionary spending

63
Q

What kind of spending is required by law?

A

mandatory spending

64
Q

What kind of spending has to be authorized each year?

A

discretionary spending

65
Q

What makes up well over half of all federal spending?

A

mandatory

66
Q

What takes the largest amount of federal spending?

A

Social Security System

67
Q

most of ________ spending is in the form of entitlements, which are social welfare programs with specific requirements

A

mandatory

68
Q

Under what kind of spending is many of these programs that are not “means tested” (meaning certain conditions have been met to receive the benefit)

A

mandatory spending

69
Q

workers must have worked for a certain period of time before they are eligible to receive full benefits under the __________ program which is 10 years in the United States

A

social security

70
Q

Why has the government gradually raised the age of full retirement?

A

to control the costs

71
Q

What was introduced in 1966 as an additional old-age benefit under Social Security?

A

Medicare program

72
Q

__________ is a joint federal-state medical insurance program for low-income people?

A

medicaid

73
Q

The federal government funds about ____% of the costs of medicaid, the states pay about __%

A

63

37

74
Q

What provides funds for about 26 million low-income people to purchase food?

A

food stamp program

75
Q

What includes health care coverage and disability payments for service-related illness or injury?

A

Veterans’ benefits

76
Q

What is the largest discretionary expenditure category which takes up about 50% of the total discretionary budget?

A

national defense

77
Q

______________ border protection and the enforcement of some immigration laws falls into the mandatory expenditures category.

A

homeland security

78
Q

What is a plan for spending federal tax money?

A

federal budget

79
Q

The budget is prepared for a ________, a 12 month period for which an organization plans its expenditures.

A

fiscal year

80
Q

The federal government’s fiscal year runs from ________ to __________

A

October 1 to September 30

81
Q

The president’s budget is prepared by the _____________.

A

Office of Management and Budget

82
Q

What are specific amounts of money set aside for specific purposes?

A

Appropriations

83
Q

_________, by which the government buys goods and services that it needs to operate, such as military equipment and office supplies.

A

direct spending

84
Q

_______ are money distributed to individuals who do not provide anything in return.

A

transfer payments

85
Q

__________ is a transfer payment from the federal government to state or local governments.

A

grant-in-aid

86
Q

In what three ways does the government influence the economy?

A
  • resource allocation
  • income redistribution
  • competition with the private sector
87
Q

What part of the economy is owned by individuals or businesses?

A

the private sector

U.S. Government (9 decks)

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