A. Read and translate the text. 1 There are three levels of government in the United States: federal, state and city, therefore there are three types of taxes: federal1 There are three levels of government in the United States: federal, state and city, therefore there are three types of taxes: federal, state and local taxes. There are several kinds of taxes. The main ones are income taxes. People must pay a certain percentage of their salaries to the federal government. Companies pay company/ corporation income tax on their profits. 2 The income tax in America is progressive: the more you earn, the more you pay. All taxpayers benefit from a system of tax allowances under which part of their income is tax-free. Privileges lowering the amount of tax are: moving expenses, having a big family, medical costs, the number of dependents, the expense of caring for small children, other such expenditures. 3 All citizens have to fill out a tax form once a year and send it to the Internal Revenue Service Bureau. Every employer is obliged to regularly take some money for taxes out of a worker’s paycheck. If at the end of the year the sum taken out is more than that arrived at on the tax form, the government returns the difference to the worker. However, if the sum is less than on the tax form, the worker must pay the difference. 4 There is also state tax added on to the price of the majority of purchases made in this state, including food (sales tax). 5 Then there is the social security tax and a tax on property and realty, which are paid for the city. Besides all these, there are even other small local requisitions: licenses for cars, licenses for businesses, the inheritance tax, and excise duties on such items as petrol, tobacco, and alcoholic drinks. The cities use this money for education, police, fire departments, public works (street repairs, water, and sanitation) and municipal buildings. 6 The main expenditure tax is the VAT (value added tax). Businesses pay it on most goods and services they buy. 7 The collection of income taxes is constantly adjusted in order to stimulate investments in those areas of the economy where it is needed at the moment most of all. So if things are going bad in housing construction, certain tax deductions are introduced for persons (establishments) building their own houses. If little money is invested in production capacities, some law is introduced stimulating it. In addition, the federal government has other ways of using the income tax laws as a means to regulate the state of the economy.
B. Give Russian equivalents to the following words and phrases: income tax, social security tax, value added tax (VAT), majority of purchases, property, realty, revenue, expenses, expenditures, medical costs, excise duties, tax allowances, tax deductions, to be tax free, to lower the amount of tax, to charge VAT on such items as …, to constantly adjust, inheritance, dependents. C. Find in the text English equivalents to the following phrases: налогоплательщики, расходы на переезд, уход за ребёнком, заполнять налоговую ведомость /декларацию, обязан раз в году, возвращать разницу, из его зарплаты, сбор налогов, средство регулирования, состояние экономики, вводить закон о налогах, строительство жилых домов, если дела идут плохо.
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