Exam 1: An Introduction to Tax

Self-employment taxes are charged on self-employment income in addition to any federal income tax.

Consider the following tax rate structure. Is it horizontally equitable? Why or why not? Is it vertically equitable? Why or why not?

Which of the following is true regarding use taxes?

Raquel recently overheard two journalism students discussing the merits of the federal tax system. One student offered as an example of unfairness the spouse of a well-known politician who paid little income tax as most of the spouse's income was earned in the form of municipal bond interest. What type of taxes is the journalism student considering in his example? What type of taxes is he ignoring? Define each type of tax. What role does each type of tax play in calculating relative tax burdens? What role does each type of tax play in evaluating fairness?

Leonardo earns $80,000 of taxable income. He also has $15,000 in city of Tulsa bonds. His wife, Theresa, earns $50,000 of taxable income. If Susie earns $750,000 in taxable income and files as head of household for year 2016, what is Susie's average tax rate (rounded)?

Leonardo, who is married but files separately, earns $80,000 of taxable income. He also has $15,000 in city of Tulsa bonds. His wife, Theresa, earns $50,000 of taxable income. If Leonardo instead had $30,000 of additional tax deductions for year 2016, his marginal tax rate (rounded) on the deductions would be:

Ricky and Lucy are debating several types of taxes. Their debate has focused on the different types of tax rate structures and whether they are "fair." Please define each tax rate structure, provide examples of each structure, and discuss how each structure may be viewed with respect to vertical equity.

Which of the following is true regarding real property taxes and personal property taxes?

The 9^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution removed all doubt that a federal income tax was allowed under the U.S. Constitution.

The estate tax is assessed based on the fair market values of transfers made during a taxpayer's life.

Manny, a single taxpayer, earns $65,000 per year in taxable income and an additional $12,000 per year in city of Boston bonds. If Manny earns an additional $35,000 in taxable income in year 2016, what is his marginal tax rate (rounded) on this income?

Ariel invests $50,000 in a city of Las Vegas bond that pays 5% interest. Alternatively, Ariel could have invested the $50,000 in a bond recently issued by Jittery Joe's, Inc. that pays 8% interest with similar non-tax characteristics as the city of Las Vegas bond (e.g., similar risk). Assume that Ariel's marginal tax rate is 25%. What is her after-tax rate of return for the city of Las Vegas bond? For the Jittery Joe's, Inc. bond? How much explicit tax does Ariel pay on the city of Las Vegas bond? How much implicit tax does she pay on the city of Las Vegas bond? How much explicit tax would she have paid on the Jittery Joe's, Inc. bond? Which bond should she choose?

Junior earns $80,000 taxable income as a regional circuit stock car driver and is taxed at an average rate of 25 percent (i.e., $20,000 of tax). If Congress increases the income tax rate such that Junior's average tax rate increases from 25% to 30%, how much more income tax will he pay assuming that the income effect is larger than the substitution effect? What effect will this tax rate change have on the tax base and tax collected? What will happen to the government's tax revenues if Junior chooses to spend more time pursuing his other passions besides work (e.g., earns only $60,000 in taxable income) in response to the tax rate change? What is the term that describes this type of reaction to a tax rate increase? (Round your answers to two decimal places)

Oswald is beginning his first tax course and does not really have a solid understanding of the role that taxes play in various decisions. Please describe for Oswald the various types of decisions that taxes may influence.

A use tax is typically imposed by a state on goods purchased within the state.

The two components of the tax calculation are the tax rate and the taxpayer's status.

Dynamic forecasting does not take into consideration taxpayers' responses to a tax change when estimating tax revenues.

The income and substitution effects are two opposing effects that one could consider in static forecasting.

Margaret recently received a parking ticket. This is a common example of a local tax.

A sales tax is a common example of a progressive tax rate structure.