"Taxes do little or nothing to reduce income inequality... However, taxes do play a vital role in reducing inequality. They fund the transfers and services that do the redistributive work," writes Lane Kenworthy.
Review Questions: Tax Myths
As voters in the U.S. weigh their ballot options, we’re looking back to Lane Kenworthy’s Summer 2009 Contexts article, “Tax Myths.” In four sections, Kenworthy takes on the following:
- Myth #1: Heavy taxation reduces economic competitiveness.
- Myth #2: Republicans favor tax cuts because they believe they’re good for the economy and key constituents.
- Myth #3: Taxes reduce inequality.
- Myth #4: Globalization makes heavy taxation impossible.
This article is free to download and share from SAGE.
With the article, the Contexts Reader, 3rd edition, includes a set of three review questions for classroom use:
- Choose one tax myth from the article that particularly surprised you. Why do you think that you, and many other Americans, believed it?
- The author states that taxes don’t directly reduce inequality. How might they indirectly affect levels of inequality?
- Activity: Chart a day in your life and show where taxes affect your daily routine. For example, your taxes help pay to enforce environmental regulations that protect your drinking water.
Comments 1
freefmod
November 26, 2022thanks for sharing