外国税制课件.ppt

1、 Chapter IV Taxation in the United Statesl History of US tax systemlUS tax system:a mixture of efficient and complexity lSpecific tax category lThe federal,state,and local tax systems in the United States have been marked by significant changes over the years in response to changing circumstances an

2、d changes in the role of government.lThe types of taxes collected,their relative proportions,and the magnitudes of the revenues collected are all far different than they were 50 or 100 years ago.History of the U.S.Tax SystemlDevelopment of the composition of taxesl Federal governmentl 1789:indirect

3、tax(tariff,excise tax)l Civil war(excise,1862,1872)l 1913(individual income tax)l 1916(inheritance tax)l 1935(social insurance tax)l Indirect tax-direct taxl State governmentl Originally property taxl 1930s(sales tax)The southern colonies primarily taxed imports and exports,the middle colonies at ti

4、mes imposed a property tax and a head or poll tax levied on each adult male,and the New England colonies raised revenue primarily through general real estate taxes,excises taxes,and taxes based on occupation.1.1.Colonial TimeslEnglands need for revenues to pay for its wars against France led it to i

5、mpose a series of taxes on the American colonies.In 1765,the English Parliament passed the Stamp Act,which was the first tax imposed directly on the American colonies,and then Parliament imposed a tax on teaTo pay the debts of the Revolutionary War,Congress levied excise taxes on distilled spirits,t

6、obacco and snuff,refined sugar,carriages,property sold at auctions,and various legal documents.During the confrontation with France in the late 1790s,the Federal Government imposed the first direct taxes on the owners of houses,land,slaves,and estates.1.2.The Post Revolutionary EralTo raise money fo

7、r the War of 1812,Congress imposed additional excise taxes,raised certain customs duties,and raised money by issuing Treasury notes.In 1817 Congress repealed these taxes,and for the next 44 years the Federal Government collected no internal revenue.Instead,the Government received most of its revenue

8、 from high customs duties and through the sale of public land.l When the Civil War erupted,the Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1861,which restored earlier excises taxes and imposed a tax on personal incomes.l On July 1,1862 the Congress passed new excise taxes on such items as playing cards,gunpo

9、wder,feathers,telegrams,iron,leather,pianos,yachts,billiard tables,drugs,patent medicines,and whiskey.Many legal documents were also taxed and license fees were collected for almost all professions and trades.1.3.The Civil Warl The 1862 law also made important reforms to the Federal income tax that

10、presaged important features of the current tax.For example,a two-tiered rate structure was enacted,with taxable incomes up to$10,000 taxed at a 3 percent rate and higher incomes taxed at 5 percent.A standard deduction of$600 was enacted and a variety of deductions were permitted for such things as r

11、ental housing,repairs,losses,and other taxes paid.In addition,to assure timely collection,taxes were withheld at the source by employers.lThe need for Federal revenue declined sharply after the war and most taxes were repealed.The income tax was abolished in 1872.lUnder the Constitution,Congress cou

12、ld impose direct taxes only if they were levied in proportion to each States population.lLacking the revenue from an income tax and with all other forms of internal taxes facing stiff resistance,from 1896 until 1910 the Federal government relied heavily on high tariffs for its revenues.1.4.The 16th

13、AmendmentlThe debate resulted in an agreement calling for a tax,called an excise tax,to be imposed on business income,and a Constitutional amendment to allow the Federal government to impose tax on individuals lawful incomes without regard to the population of each State.lBy 1913,36 States had ratif

14、ied the 16th Amendment to the Constitution.In October,Congress passed a new income tax law with rates beginning at 1 percent and rising to 7 percent for taxpayers with income in excess of$500,000lThe entry of the United States into World War I greatly increased the need for revenue and Congress resp

15、onded by passing the 1916 Revenue Act.The 1916 Act raised the lowest tax rate from 1 percent to 2 percent and raised the top rate to 15 percent on taxpayers with incomes in excess of$1.5 million.The 1916 Act also imposed taxes on estates and excess business profits.1.5.World War I and the 1920sl Nee

16、ding still more tax revenue,the War Revenue Act of 1917 lowered exemptions and greatly increased tax rates.In 1916,a taxpayer needed$1.5 million in taxable income to face a 15 percent rate.By 1917 a taxpayer with only$40,000 faced a 16 percent rate and the individual with$1.5 million faced a tax rat

17、e of 67 percent.l Another revenue act was passed in 1918,which hiked tax rates once again.this time raising the bottom rate to 6 percent and the top rate to 77 percent.These changes increased revenue from$761 million in 1916 to$3.6 billion in 1918,which represented about 25 percent of Gross Domestic

18、 Product(GDP)lThe economy boomed during the 1920s and increasing revenues from the income tax followed.This allowed Congress to cut taxes five times,ultimately returning the bottom tax rate to 1 percent and the top rate down to 25 percent and reducing the Federal tax burden as a share of GDP to 13 p

19、ercent.As tax rates and tax collections declined,the economy was strengthened further.l In October of 1929 the stock market crash marked the beginning of the Great Depression.As the economy shrank,government receipts also fell.l In the face of rising budget deficits which reached$2.7 billion in 1931

20、,Congress followed the prevailing economic wisdom at the time and passed the Tax Act of 1932 which dramatically increased tax rates once again.This was followed by another tax increase in 1936 that further improved the governments finances while further weakening the economy.By 1936 the lowest tax r

21、ate had reached 4 percent and the top rate was up to 79 percent.l The Social Security Taxl The state of the economy during the Great Depression led to passage of the Social Security Act in 1935.l This law provided payments known as unemployment compensation to workers who lost their jobs.Other secti

22、ons of the Act gave public aid to the aged,the needy,the handicapped,and to certain minors.l These programs were financed by a 2 percent tax,one half of which was subtracted directly from an employees paycheck and one half collected from employers on the employees behalf.The tax was levied on the fi

23、rst$3,000 of the employees salary or wage.l Even before the United States entered the Second World War,increasing defense spending and the need for monies to support the opponents of Axis aggression led to the passage in 1940 of two tax laws that increased individual and corporate taxes,which were f

24、ollowed by another tax hike in 1941.l By the end of the war the nature of the income tax had been fundamentally altered.Reductions in exemption levels meant that taxpayers with taxable incomes of only$500 faced a bottom tax rate of 23 percent,while taxpayers with incomes over$1 million faced a top r

25、ate of 94 percent.1.6.World War IIlAnother important feature of the income tax that changed was the return to income tax withholding as had been done during the Civil War l Tax cuts following the war reduced the Federal tax burden as a share of GDP from its wartime high of 20.9 percent in 1944 to 14

26、.4 percent in 1950.l In 1961,Congress passed a law requiring individual taxpayers to use their Social Security number as a means of tax form identification.l By 1967,all business and personal tax returns were handled by computer systems,l and by the late 1960s,the IRS had developed a computerized me

27、thod for selecting tax returns to be examined.1.7.Developments after World War IIlThroughout the 1950s tax policy was increasingly seen as a tool for raising revenue and for changing the incentives in the economy,but also as a tool for stabilizing macroeconomic activity.lDuring the inflation time,th

28、e income tax was not indexed for inflation and so,driven by a rising inflation,and despite repeated legislated tax cuts,the tax burden rose from 19.4 percent of GDP to 20.8 percent of GDP.Words and phraseslEconomic recoverylDefeatismlStagflationlSupply-side economicslLaffer curve1.8.The Reagan Tax C

29、utlEconomic recovery plan:l 1981 tax reforml 1986 tax reforml Background:political(Vietnam war;Irans occupancy of the US Embassy and USs failure in rescuing;),economic(stagflation,increased unemployment,high inflation);tax cut;the second revolutionl 1981 tax reforml Four points:reduce the federal ex

30、penditure;limit the tax burden to the lowest level;reduce the management burden of federal government;support the stable and reliable monetary policyl Lower the marginal tax rate of individual income tax by 25%,from originally 14%-70%to 11%-50%(14);lower the rate of capital gains from 28%to 20%lThe

31、Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981,which enjoyed strong bi-partisan support in the Congress,represented a fundamental shift in the course of federal income tax policy.It featured a 25 percent reduction in individual tax brackets,phased in over 3 years,and indexed for inflation thereafter.This brought

32、 the top tax bracket down to 50 percent.lThe 1981 Act also featured a dramatic departure in the treatment of business outlays for plant and equipment,i.e.capital cost recovery,or tax depreciation.Heretofore,capital cost recovery had attempted roughly to follow a concept known as economic depreciatio

33、n,which refers to the decline in the market value of a producing asset over a specified period of time.lThe 1981 tax cut represented a new way of looking at tax policy,though it was in fact a return to a more traditional,or neoclassical,economic perspective.lThe essential idea was that taxes have th

34、eir first and primary effect on the economic incentives facing individuals and businesses.lThe 1981 tax cut actually represented two departures from previous tax policy philosophies,one explicit and intended and the second by implication.lAs inflation came down and as more and more of the tax cuts f

35、rom the 1981 Act went into effect,the economic began a strong and sustained pattern of growthl 1986 tax cutl Three points:simplify;fareness;stimulating economic developmentl Further lower the tax rate and simplify the individual income tax,tax rate from 11%-50%to three levels:15%,25%,34%;l Lower the

36、 tax rate and simplify the corporate income tax from five levels 15%-46%to four levels 15%,18%,25%,34%,lower the rate of capital gains taxlThus,in his 1984 State of the Union speech President Reagan called for a sweeping reform of the income tax so it would have a broader base and lower rates and wo

37、uld be fairer,simpler,and more consistent with economic efficiency.lThe 1986 Tax Reform Act was roughly revenue neutrall The 2001 tax cut represented a resumption of a number of other trends in tax policy.l Another feature of the 2001 tax cut that is particularly noteworthy is that it put the estate

38、,gift,and generation-skipping taxes on course for eventual repeal,which is also another step toward a consumption tax.1.9.The Bush Tax CutlThe 2001 tax cut will provide additional strength to the economy in the coming years as more and more of its provisions are phased in,and indeed one argument for

39、 its enactment had always been as a form of insurance against an economic downturn.To sum uplThree periods of developmentl1.Period of indirect tax,in which tariff was the main taxl2.Period that excise tax became the main source of revenuel3.Period of multiple taxation,in which income tax was the mai

40、n taxThe U.S.tax Systeml Taxation in the United States is a complex system which may involve payments to at least three different levels of government:Levels:Federal State Local 2.1 Different types of taxes on different levelsl Federal governmentFederal personal income taxFederal corporate income ta

41、xFederal estate&gift taxesConsumption taxesl State government Real&personal property taxesPersonal income taxCorporate income taxConsumption taxesSales taxl Local governmentLocal real&personal property taxesLocal personal&corporate income taxesSales taxes2.2 Overview of tax system(1)l The main sourc

42、e of revenue for the federal government is personal income tax,which generates roughly five times as much as corporate income tax.l The states obtain their funding from both personal income tax and consumption taxes,while the local governments mainly tax real and personal property.Most states and lo

43、cal communities impose a sales tax(from 0 to 9.8%,designed as a single-phase tax),whereas the federal government does not.Overview of tax system(2)lThe states and local governments compete with each other through their right to impose supplementary personal and corporate income taxes.This efficient

44、system has its price:it complicates tax law with the taxpayers,who may have to file tax returns for all three levels of government.Overview of tax system(3)lTax sovereignty is divided among the federal government,the states and the local governments.Personal income tax,for instance,is levied by both

45、 the federal government and the states,and even to some extent by the local communities.The tax burden therefore often differs considerably from region to region,both for individuals and for companies.3.Specific tax categories lTax categories on federal government level lTax categories on state gove

46、rnment levellTax categories on local government levelWords and phraseslgeneration skipping taxeslStatutory exclusionslself-employedlPersonal exemptions lStandard deduction litemized deductionsl 3.1.1.The federal government is now financed primarily by personal and Social Security and Medicare taxes.

47、l The federal government collects several specific taxes in addition to the general income tax.l Social Security and Medicare are large social support programs which are funded by taxes on personal earned income.3.1 Tax categories on federal government levellEstate taxes are levied on inheritance.Ne

48、t long-term capital gains as well as certain types of qualified dividend income are taxed preferentially.lFederal excise taxes are applied to specific items such as motor fuels,tires,telephone usage,tobacco products,and alcoholic beverageslAn income tax on individuals and corporations(which consists

49、 of both a“regular”income tax and an alternative minimum tax);lPayroll taxes on wages(and corresponding taxes on self-employment income);l Estate,gift,and generation skipping taxes,and lExcise taxes on selected goods and services.3.1.2.The current Federal tax system has four main elementsa.Individua

50、l Income Tax lIn general lA United States citizen or resident alien generally is subject to the U.S.individual income tax on his or her worldwide taxable income.lTaxable income equals the taxpayers total gross income less certain exclusions,exemptions,and deductions.3.1.3.Main Taxes Levied by Federa