Exercises

1. Answer the questions.

1) What are taxes?

2) What are “direct” and “indirect” taxes?

3) What are the functions of taxes?

4) How are businesses taxed?

5) What taxes are paid to the federal budget?

6) What bodies audit taxes?

7) When can taxpayers lodge an appeal?

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

2. Translate into English.

Обязательный финансовый вклад; расходы органов государственной власти; важный источник правительственных доходов; налог на зарплату рабочих; налог на зарплату служащих; налог на прибыль; налог на дивиденды; налог на рентные платежи; налог на процентный доход; налог на капитал; покрывать издержки (расходы); процентные платежи по внешнему долгу; стабильный экономический рост; благосостояние общества; подлежать обложению налогом; доходы трех уровней бюджета; налог на добавленную стоимость; налог на ценные бумаги; подавать налоговую декларацию; проводить аудиторскую проверку; подавать апелляционную жалобу; в течение пяти дней; ликвидировать обязательства по уплате налогов.

3. Complete the text using the words:

invest, tax policy, tax authorities, receive, more, equal, taxation, taxpayer, income

Tax Policy

There are four objectives of tax policy: simplicity (простота), efficiency, fairness (честность, справедливость), and revenue sufficiency (достаточность).

Simplicity means that relations of the 1) … and the 2) … are as easy as possible.

Efficiency means that 3) … interferes as little as possible in the choices people make. For example, the tax law shouldn’t induce (побуждать, склонять) a businessman to 4) … in real estate (недвижимость) instead of research and development.

Fairness, to most people, requires that equally situated taxpayers pay 5) … taxes and that better-off (состоятельные) taxpayers pay 6) … tax. The problem though is how to judge if two taxpayers are equally situated. For example, one taxpayer might 7) … income from labour while another receives the same 8)… from inherited wealth (унаследованное состояние).

Revenue sufficiency is a fairy obvious criterion of 9) … .

4. Chose the correct words to complete each sentence:

1) The tax on wages and salaries is called … tax .

a) value-added b) income

2) A tax that is levied at a higher rate on higher incomes is called a … tax.

a) progressive b) regressive

3) Property taxes, sales taxes, customs duties on import, etc. are … taxes.

a) direct b) indirect

4) Reducing the amount of tax you pay to a legal minimum is called … .

a) tax avoidance b) tax evasion

5) Making false declarations is called … and is illegal.

a) tax avoidance b) tax evasion

5. Read the text and translate it into Russian.

Reclamation for Value-added Tax

Duty-free is not the only way to buy cut-price goods in Europe. Tax-free shopping offers even greater number of discounts to visitors from outside the 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 the EU. Tax-free shopping, however, is a perk only available to non-EU members flying into European countries, which add up to around 100 million tourists each year. Value-added tax (VAT) normally included in a price of goods is refunded when leaving the EU.

Most goods are sold with VAT included in a selling price. This ranges from 7 per cent for some goods in Germany to 25 per cent in Sweden and Denmark. In the UK, VAT stands at 17,5 percent. However, visitors only get saving of 14,8 percent on a purchase price as there is an 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 is a simple system, which means you receive a refund when you leave a country. There is often a minimum sale of between $ 30 and $ 100 to qualify for a refund.

After purchasing any goods ask for a Tax-free Shopping Voucher, which you need to reclaim your VAT. When you leave the EU your vouchers must be stamped at the customs. Then vouchers can be cashed at Refund Points.