UNIT 23

Central banking, money and taxation

Vocabulary

Interest rate ceilings and floors – the largest and lowest levels of rates that are officially allowed

floating exchange rate – an exchange rate when the value of a currency is allowed to change in relation to others

Fixed exchange rate – exchange rate that is not allowed to change in relation to others

upswing (in) – an improvement or increase in the number or level of something

downswing – the part of the economic cycle when prices etc fall

bank run – when a lot of people all take their money out of a bank at the same time

inclined to – encouraged; feeling a wish

incite – to cause or encourage (someone) to (a strong feeling or action)

sales tax – tax on a wide range of goods or services. Many states in the US charge their own sales tax.

value-added tax – tax on some goods and services. Businesses pay VAT on most goods and services they buy and if they are VAT registered, charge VAT on the goods and services they sell. At regular periods of time, the total amount of tax paid is taken away from the total amount charged to arrive at an amount that is owed to or by the business. Final customers pay VAT on these goods in shops and on services. VAT is a way of charging tax on the increase in value of goods and services at each stage as they are produced, rather than just on their final selling price to customers.

income tax– in Britain, a tax on money people earn, paid to the national government. In the US, a tax on the money people earn or on the profits companies make, paid to the national, state, or local government

capital gains tax– in Britain, a tax that ordinary people, not companies, pay when they make a large amount of money by selling an asset such as property. In the US CGT is also paid by companies

customs duties- a tax on goods brought into a country that is used to raise money for the government and to protect industries in the country from competition from abroad

excise duty– a government tax on certain goods such as tobacco, alcoholic drinks, and petrol that are sold in the country

stamp duty– a tax that has to be paid in some countries when buying and selling things such as shares, property etc

levy– to officially make someone pay a tax etc

progressive tax– a tax that is charged at an increasing rate as income increases

wealth tax– a tax on the value of a person’s assets if their value is above a particular amount

dissuade (from)– to advise someone agaist doing something, persuade not to

accelerated depreciation– a system where tax authorities allow larger amounts for depreciation at the beginning of the life of an asset, and for the whole value of the asset to be claimed before the end of its useful life

corporation tax – in Britain, a tax on the profits of companies, both on profits paid as dividends (= payments to shareholders) and reserves (=profits from a particular period of time not paid to shareholders in that period)

marginal rate of tax– the rate of income tax that someone pays on the part of their income that is taxed the most

moonlight– if you moonlight, you have a second job in addition to your main job, without the knowledge of your main employer or the tax authorities

overtake– to come up from behind, and pass

tax liability– when a person or organization must pay tax, or the amount of tax they must pay

perquisites (perks)– something in addition to money that you get for doing your job, such as a car

loophole – a way of escaping or avoiding something, especially one provided by a rule or agreement written without enough care

tax shelter– a plan or arrangement that allows you to legally avoid paying tax

tax-deductible– tax-deductible costs can be taken off your total income before tax is calculated on it

make a tax- заполнить налоговую декларацию

tax haven – a place where people go to live or to invest money, in order to avoid paying high taxes in their own country

disguise– to hide (the real and unusually unpleasant state of things)