tailieunhanh - Lecture Principles of microeconomics - Chapter 12: The design of the tax system

In this chapter you will get an overview of how the . government raises and spends money, examine the efficiency costs of taxes, learn alternative ways to judge the equity of a tax system, see why studying tax incidence is crucial for evaluating tax equity, consider the tradeoff between efficiency and equity in the design of a tax system. | The Design of the Tax System Chapter 12 Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to: Permissions Department, Harcourt College Publishers, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” . . . Benjamin Franklin 0 20 40 60 80 100 1789 Taxes paid in Ben Franklin’s time accounted for 5 percent of the average American’s income. 2 “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” . . . Benjamin Franklin 0 20 40 60 80 100 1789 Today Today, taxes account for up to a third of the average American’s income. 2 Government Revenue as a Percentage of GDP Central Government Tax Revenue as a Percent of GDP The Federal Government The . federal government collects about two-thirds of the taxes in our economy. The Federal Government The largest source of revenue for the federal government is the individual income tax. Tax Liability . | The Design of the Tax System Chapter 12 Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to: Permissions Department, Harcourt College Publishers, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” . . . Benjamin Franklin 0 20 40 60 80 100 1789 Taxes paid in Ben Franklin’s time accounted for 5 percent of the average American’s income. 2 “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” . . . Benjamin Franklin 0 20 40 60 80 100 1789 Today Today, taxes account for up to a third of the average American’s income. 2 Government Revenue as a Percentage of GDP Central Government Tax Revenue as a Percent of GDP The Federal Government The . federal government collects about two-thirds of the taxes in our economy. The Federal Government The largest source of revenue for the federal government is the individual income tax. Tax Liability With respect to paying income taxes, an individual’s tax liability (how much he/she owes) is based on total income. Individual Income Taxes The marginal tax rate is the tax rate applied to each additional dollar of income. Higher-income families pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes. 10 Federal Income Tax Rates: 1999 10 The Federal Government and Taxes Payroll Taxes: tax on the wages that a firm pays its workers. Social Insurance Taxes: revenue from these taxes is earmarked to pay for Social Security and Medicare. Excise Taxes: taxes on specific goods like gasoline, cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages. Receipts of the Federal Government: 1999 Receipts of the Federal Government. Individual Income Tax, 48% Social Insurance Tax, 34% Corporate Tax, 10% Excise Tax, 4% Other, 4% 9 Federal Government Spending Government spending includes transfer payments and the purchase of public goods and services. Transfer payments are government payments not made in exchange for a good or a .