Практическое занятие № 15

План

I. Чтение и перевод текста «Taxes and Public Spending».

II. Знакомство с темой «The Central Bank and Financial Markets».

III. Составление темы «My Future Profession».

I. Прочитайте и переведите следующий текст на русский язык, учитывая особенности перевода конструкции «сложное подлежащее»:

Taxes and Public Spending

In most economies government revenues come mainly from direct taxes on personal incomes and company profits as well as indirect taxes levied on purchase of goods and services such as value added tax (VAT) and sales tax. Since state provision of retirement pensions is included in government expenditure, pension contributions to state-run social security funds are included in revenue, too. Some small component of government spending is financed through government borrowing.

Government spending comprises spending on goods and services and transfer payments. Governments mostly pay for public goods, that is, those goods that, even if they are consumed by one person, can still be consumed by other people. Clean air, national defense, health service are examples of public goods. Governments also provide such services as police, fire-fighting and the administration of justice¹.

A transfer is a payment, usually by the government, for which no corresponding service is provided in return². Examples are social security, retirement pensions, unemployment benefits and, in some countries, food stamps³.

In most countries there are campaigns for cutting government spending. The reason for it is that high levels of government spending are believed to exhaust resources that can be used productively in the private sector. Lower incentives to work are also believed to result from social security payments and unemployment benefits.

Whereas spending on goods and services directly exhausts resources that can be used elsewhere, transfer payments do not reduce society's resources. They transfer purchasing power from one group of consumers, those paying taxes, to another group of consumers, those receiving transfer payments and subsidies.

Another reason for reducing government spending is to make room for⁴ tax cuts.

Government intervention manifests itself in tax policy which is different in different countries. In the United Kingdom the government takes nearly 40 percent of national income in taxes. Some governments take a larger share, others a smaller share.

The most widely used progressive tax structure is the one in which the average tax rate rises with a person's income level. As a result of progressive tax and transfer system most is taken from the rich⁵ and most is given to the poor⁵.

Rising tax rates initially increase tax revenue but eventually result in such large falls in the equilibrium quantity of the taxed commodity or activity that revenue starts to fall again. High tax rates are said to reduce the incentive to work. If half of all we earn goes to the government, we may prefer to work fewer hours a week and spend more time in the garden or watching television.

Cuts in tax rates will usually reduce the deadweight tax burden⁶ and reduce the amount of taxes raised but might increase eventual revenue.

If governments wish to reduce the deadweight tax burden and balance spending and revenue, they are supposed to reduce government spending in order to cut taxes.

¹administration of justice – отправление правосудия

²in return – в ответ

³food stamps – продуктовые карточки, продовольственные талоны, по которым малоимущие граждане, как, например, в США, имеют право получать продукты питания в определенных магазинах, но не могут обменять их на деньги

⁴to make room for – зд. создать условия для

⁵the rich – богатые

the poor – бедные

⁵reduce the deadweight tax burden – снизить налоговое бремя

II. Студентам предлагается тема «Центральный банк и финансовые рынки», которую необходимо прочитать и перевести, используя Словарный комментарий к тексту Приложения № 1:

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