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上期划线句答案
The researchers found that instead of a higher percentage of people making it to 100 in the places they analyzed, the ages at which people are dying have been compressed into a narrower time frame.
研究人员发现，在他们分析的地方，活到100岁的人的比例并没有提高，人们的死亡年龄被压缩到一个更窄的时间范围内。
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本期内容
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双语阅读
Para.1
A fair and efficient tax system means that taxes should raise revenue at the smallest cost to the economy. The system should be easy to administer and do as little as possible to distort economic decisions. Taxes should be fair: two people with equal income and similar economic circumstances should pay equal taxes. Wealthy taxpayers with a higher ability to pay should pay more taxes and at a higher rate. But rates should not be so high as to discourage work effort and decisions to invest in innovative and risky ventures that promise to improve the nation’s productivity and future growth.
Para.2
One set of proposals floated during the presidential campaign involves a substantial increase in the top marginal tax rates. In answer to objections that such an increase could sharply reduce incentives on work effort and investment, proponents of these proposals answer that we had marginal tax rates of 90 per cent in the early 1950s and the economy continued to grow (albeit slowly). What these politicians neglect to mention is that people did not pay those high rates. Federal tax receipts as a percentage of GDP have been remarkably stable, averaging about 17.5 per cent since the 1950s. Taxpayers did not report income that would have put them in the highest bracket, taking advantage of shelters and loopholes while using strategies such as shifting income to the corporate sector where tax rates were lower or to family members in lower tax brackets.
Para.3
Likewise, a variety of proposals have surfaced regarding wealth taxes. Such taxes have been a previous feature of European tax systems. They have proved virtually impossible to administer, spurred countless methods of avoidance and raised little revenue. Most European countries have dropped such taxes. Are there ways to raise revenues while preserving fairness and not harming incentives? Closing existing loopholes would be most preferable. “Carried interest”, the share of profits on deals that private equity fund managers receive, is another promising target. We should incentivise putting new money into new businesses. But the income from managing such enterprises should be taxed like all other income, not as capital gains.
Para.4
If we believe that fairness requires the wealthy to pay more in taxes, the most efficient method is to legislate the constructive realisation of capital gains at death — when all assets have to be evaluated for estate taxes. At present, the cost basis of assets is written up to current market value at death and capital gains taxes are avoided. Imposing such taxes at death corrects this avoidance and the lock-in effect of escaping taxation by holding appreciated shares.
Para.5
A further method of increasing revenue would be to add a federal consumption tax to the current income tax. In some sense it is far more reasonable to tax people on what they take out of the goods and services produced by the economy rather than on what they put into the productive process through work effort and investments. And there are methods to make consumption taxes far less regressive than critics claim.
本文节选自：Financial Times（金融时报）
发布时间：2024.10.9
作者：Opinion
原文标题：How the US should reform taxes
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写作句总结
Likewise, a variety of proposals have surfaced regarding wealth taxes.
结构：Likewise, a variety of proposals have surfaced regarding ….
同样，也出现了一些关于…的提案。
例句：Likewise, a variety of proposals have surfaced regarding purchase subsidies.
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阅读理解题
Based on the passage, what is the primary argument against substantial increases in top marginal tax rates?
A) They could lead to reduced work effort and investment.
B) They would generate more federal tax receipts than expected.
C) They are unfair to wealthy taxpayers.
D) They have proven successful in European countries.
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翻译 | 大橙子
校对 | 李柚子
词汇词组 | 西西弗
划线句讲解 | 流木
写作句总结 | 沅沅
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