Exercises

Ex. 1. Answer these questions:

A. 1. What are taxes?

2. What are the purposes of direct and indirect taxation?

3. Are businesses taxed equally?

4. How is taxation levied in the UK?

5. What taxes are paid to the federal budget?

6. What bodies collect taxes?

7. Do taxpayers have the right to appeal against additional tax liability?

8. What is the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance?

9. In what situations can incomes be taxed twice?

B. 1. What is the attitude towards taxes in Russia?

2. How are personal incomes taxed in Russia?

3. How are businesses taxed in Russia?

4. How do taxes on businesses in Russia compare with similar taxes in other countries?

5. Are there any tax breaks in Russia? What privileges exist for small businesses?

6. What's the attitude of government officials towards tax exemption and tax deferment?

7. Is tax collection satisfactory in Russia at the moment? What are the reasons for the poor collection of

taxes?

8. Is there any discrimination against foreign companies?

9. Do Russian tax authorities draw on Western experience?

Ex. 2. Give derivatives of:

tax n subject n investment n evasion n

provision n treat v audit n avoidance n

influence n assess v appeal n arrangement n

Ex. 3. Find English equivalents for the following Russian phrases from the text:

А. подоходный налог; налог на заработную плату; налог на жалованье служащих; налог на прибыль; налог на дивиденды; налог на рентные платежи; налог на процентный доход; налог на капитал; прямые налоги; косвенные налоги; покрывать издержки; процентные платежи по внешнему долгу; благосостояние общества; подлежать обложению налогом; относиться по-разному; доход после налогообложения; налоговая декларация; налог на добавленную стоимость; собирать налоги; проводить аудиторскую проверку; подавать апелляционную жалобу; незаконное уклонение от налоговых обязательств; задолженность по налоговым платежам;

В. применяется прогрессивный подоходный налог; верхний предел налоговой ставки; юридические лица, занимающиеся предпринимательской деятельностью; отчисления в Пенсионный фонд; эти налоги оплачиваются потребителями; единообразная ставка налога; облагать налогом по льготным ставкам; налоговые льготы; сбор налогов находится на низком уровне; стабильная законодательная база.

Ex. 4. Say in a few words what the main text is about. Use the opening phrases from Ex. 4 (Unit 1).

Ex. 5. Sum up the contents of the main dialogue. Use the phrases from Ex. 5 (Unit 1).

Ex. 6. Read the dialogue, translate the Russian remarks into English and act it out:

Foreigner: The tax system in Russia has changed significantly over the years of the reforms. But businessmen and individuals still complain that the system of taxation is unfair and inadequate.

Russian: Да, это так. Несмотря на огромную работу в области налогового законодательства, проделанную за годы реформ, наша налоговая система постоянно критикуется представителями бизнеса, законодательной и исполнительной ветвями власти. Учитывая это, мы сейчас работаем над налоговым кодексом.

F.: What concept underlies this document?

R.: Прежде всего мы считаем необходимым снизить налоговое бремя на товаропроизводителя. Мы планируем сделать это путем снижения налоговых ставок, а также за счет постепенного увеличения налогов с физических лиц. Мы также намерены отменить многие налоговые льготы, которые лишают бюджет значительных налоговых доходов.

F.: Our tax system is based on the same principles and it works rather well. From our experience I can say that more emphasis should also be placed on tax collection in your country.

R.: Вы абсолютно правы. Наше правительство принимает меры по повышению собираемости налогов, усиливает контроль за лицами, имеющими высокие доходы, за платежами в Пенсионный фонд. Мы пытаемся закрыть все лазейки (loopholes) для лиц, уклоняющихся от уплаты налогов. Вот суть нашей налоговой политики.

F.: Life shows that a system works effectively where the policies are right. Let's hope you are on the right way.

Ex. 7. Work on vocabulary and grammar.

a) Study the key words of the unit in the dictionary at the back of the book:

tax, taxation, tax allowance, tax breaks, tax concessions, tax benefits, tax exemptions;

b) Think of the verbs that are commonly used with:

tax, taxation, profits, revenue, complaint, claim, effects, non-compliance, tax rate, burden of taxation, privilege, income, exemptions;

c) Think of the nouns that are most often used with:

to levy, to collect, to tax, to impose, to introduce, to pay, to reduce, to avoid, to evade, to exempt;

d) Make your own sentences with any five word combinations from (b) and (c).

e) Match the verbs from (a) with nouns from (b) below:

a) to reduce b) economic welfare

to improve taxes

to correct inequality

to increase revenue

to check imports

to withhold business

to tax adverse balance of payments

f) Write out from the main text international words like: contribution, authority, service, etc. Transcribe them and read aloud.

Ex. 8. a) Supply the articles where necessary.

b) Write down 3-5 questions about the texts.

c) Say if you have ever reclaimed your VAT.

a) If you thought duty-free was... only way to buy cut price goods in ... Europe, you'd be wrong. Tax-free shopping offers ... even greater number of discounts to visitors from outside ... EU and includes more than just... perfume,... alcohol and ... cigarettes.

The main difference between ... duty-free and ... tax-free shopping is that duty-free is available to everyone travelling within ... EU. Tax-free shopping, however, is ... perk only available to ... non-EU members flying into European countries, which adds up to around 100 million tourists each year. The Value-Added Tax normally included in ... price of goods is refunded when leaving ... EU.

Most goods are sold with VAT included in ... selling price. This ranges from ... 7 per cent for some goods in Germany to 25 per cent in Sweden and Denmark. In ... UK, VAT stands at 17.5 per cent. However, visitors only get ... saving of 14.8 per cent on ... purchase price as there is ... added fee for ... handling of the refund.

Tax-free shopping has become ... big business with tourists from non-EU countries spending huge sums every year. It's a simple system which means you receive ... cash-in-hand refund when you leave ... country. There is often a minimum sale of between $ 30 and $100 to qualify for... refund.

After purchasing any goods ask for ... Tax-free Shopping Voucher which you need to reclaim your VAT. When you leave the EU ... vouchers must be stamped at... customs and all your purchases shown to them. The vouchers can then be cashed at... Refund Points.

Based on: European Businessman

Words you may need:

discount n скидка

perk n преимущество

refund v возмещать, возвращать

handling of the refund оформление возврата (налога)

cash-in-hand наличность

to qualify for refund получить право на получение возмещения

reclaim v требовать обратно

voucher n квитанция, ваучер

d) Say what you have learned about the system of tax administration in the UK.

b) The British Government's programme of tax reform has sought to maintain ... climate in which business can thrive and individual initiative is rewarded. Its major aims are ... following: to keep ... tax burden as low as possible through firm control over public expenditure, to maintain ... broad tax base, which helps to keep tax rates low, and to shift the balance of taxation from taxes on income to taxes on expenditure. Steps have also been taken to close tax loopholes. The government is committed to simplifying ... administration of ... tax system, both for individuals and for companies. The government admits that there are four general principles for ... efficient administration of a tax system: ... clarity, continuity, cost-effectiveness and convenience.

At present, the Inland Revenue assesses and collects ... taxes on income, profits and capital, and stamp duty.

Taxes on individual incomes are generally progressive in that larger incomes bear... greater amount of tax.

In general, income tax is charged on all income which originates in ... Britain and on all income arising abroad of people resident in Britain. Some forms of income, however, are exempt.

Britain has entered into ... agreements with many countries to provide relief from double taxation. Most wage and salary earners pay their income tax under a Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) system whereby tax is deducted and accounted for to the Inland Revenue by the employer.

The rates of company tax in Britain are lower than in ... most other industrialized countries. A company which distributes profits to its shareholders is required to pay advance corporation tax (ACT) on these distributions to ... Inland Revenue.

Words you may need:

reward v вознаграждать

tax base налоговая база

loophole n лазейка

stamp duty гербовый сбор

charge v взимать

advance corporation tax авансовый корпорационный налог

Ex. 9. a) Supply the prepositions where necessary.

b) Write down 3-5 questions about the text.

c) Explain the functions perfomed by excise duties.