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U.S. Government > Test 7 Taxes > Flashcards

Test 7 Taxes Flashcards

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
What is the final burden of a tax?
incidence of a tax (impact of the tax on the taxpayer)
26
________ is the use of taxes to encourage or discourage certain economic behaviors.
a tax incentive
27
What taxes are often imposed on products or activities considered to be unhealthful or damaging to society, such as gambling, alcohol, and cigarettes?
sin
28
What is the largest source of taxes for the federal government?
individual income tax
29
The government began using the income tax after the ____________ to the constitution which occurred in 1913..
16th amendment
30
What kind of taxes are the second highest source of federal revenue?
social insurances
31
Who shares the burden of social insurances tax?
workers and employers
32
To make it easier for taxpayers and the government, a ____________ which is a tax taken from a worker's paycheck--- is collected
payroll tax
33
What is deducted from a paycheck as a withholding, or money taken from a worker's pay before the worker receives it?
payroll tax
34
The ________ is the government agency that collects the money for the federal government and administers the federal tax system.
IRS
35
The federal income tax is a ___________ based on the ability-to-pay principle of taxation.
progressive tax
36
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.
standard | itemized
37
Each year, taxpayers must complete a _________, a form used to report income and taxes owed to various levels of government
tax return
38
taxes have to be filed by what date each year?
april 15
39
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?
FICA Federal insurance contributions act
40
_______ is also known as social insurance?
FICA
41
FICA encompasses ___________ and _________.
Social Security and Medicare
42
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?
Social Security
43
introduced in 1966, ________ is a national health insurance program for citizens over 65 and certain other groups of people
medicare
44
________ is a program funded by federal and state taxes and administered by the states?
unemployment compensation
45
What provides benefits for a certain period of time to employees who lose their jobs through no fault of their own?
unemployment
46
What applies to the first $7000 earned by an employee?
unemployment tax
47
under normal times, an individual can collect unemployment benefits for a maximum of _____ weeks.
26
48
after the recession, Congress passed the emergency benefit program to extend the duration to collect unemployment to ______ weeks.
72
49
What is the third largest source of tax revenue for the federal government?
Corporate income taxes
50
What do tax breaks for corporations include:
deductions for investment in buildings, equipment, research, and rules that benefit multinational corporations
51
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.
corporate level | individual level
52
What is a tax on property that is transferred to others on the death of the owner?
estate tax
53
Most estates are not subject to this tax, because the government only taxes _______ estates.
large
54
What is a tax on money or property given by one living person to another?
gift tax
55
In Alabama, the maximum amount of gift you receive cannot be more than _________ per year, per individual.
$14,000
56
_________ is a tax on the production or sale of a specific product, such as gasoline or telephone service
excise tax
57
the government places excise taxes on goods or services for which there is relatively inelastic demand in order to maintain a steady stream of _______
revenue
58
________ is a tax on goods imported into the United States from another country
the customs duty tax
59
customs duties are basically excise taxes on _______ and are also known as tariffs
imports
60
__________ is money charged for the use of a good or service
user fee
61
Who charges entrance, parking, and camping fees to visitors to national parks?
the federal government
62
the programs and services the federal government finds with tax revenue are divided into two categories:
mandatory spending | discretionary spending
63
What kind of spending is required by law?
mandatory spending
64
What kind of spending has to be authorized each year?
discretionary spending
65
What makes up well over half of all federal spending?
mandatory
66
What takes the largest amount of federal spending?
Social Security System
67
most of ________ spending is in the form of entitlements, which are social welfare programs with specific requirements
mandatory
68
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)
mandatory spending
69
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
social security
70
Why has the government gradually raised the age of full retirement?
to control the costs
71
What was introduced in 1966 as an additional old-age benefit under Social Security?
Medicare program
72
__________ is a joint federal-state medical insurance program for low-income people?
medicaid
73
The federal government funds about ____% of the costs of medicaid, the states pay about __%
63 | 37
74
What provides funds for about 26 million low-income people to purchase food?
food stamp program
75
What includes health care coverage and disability payments for service-related illness or injury?
Veterans' benefits
76
What is the largest discretionary expenditure category which takes up about 50% of the total discretionary budget?
national defense
77
______________ border protection and the enforcement of some immigration laws falls into the mandatory expenditures category.
homeland security
78
What is a plan for spending federal tax money?
federal budget
79
The budget is prepared for a ________, a 12 month period for which an organization plans its expenditures.
fiscal year
80
The federal government's fiscal year runs from ________ to __________
October 1 to September 30
81
The president's budget is prepared by the _____________.
Office of Management and Budget
82
What are specific amounts of money set aside for specific purposes?
Appropriations
83
_________, by which the government buys goods and services that it needs to operate, such as military equipment and office supplies.
direct spending
84
_______ are money distributed to individuals who do not provide anything in return.
transfer payments
85
__________ is a transfer payment from the federal government to state or local governments.
grant-in-aid
86
In what three ways does the government influence the economy?
- resource allocation - income redistribution - competition with the private sector
87
What part of the economy is owned by individuals or businesses?
the private sector

U.S. Government (9 decks)

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