What are tax expenditures What are their strengths and weaknesses - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1077 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Did you like this example? What are tax expenditures? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Definition: Tax expenditures or tax breaks are revenue losses attributable to tax provisions. According to (OEDC, 2010) â€Å"tax expenditures are provisions that let certain groups of people, such as small businessmen, retired people or working mothers, or those who have undertaken certain activities, such as charitable donations, to pay less in taxes†. Tax expenditures often result from the use of the tax system to promote social goals. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "What are tax expenditures? What are their strengths and weaknesses?" essay for you Create order In addition, tax expenditure reflects the ways in which governments spend money indirectly, through special provisions in the tax code (Howard, 2003). Tax expenditures include credits, deductions, preferential tax rates, and deferrals of tax liability (Howard 2102). Tax expenditures can take many forms. For instance: refundable tax expenditures at The US are the earned income tax credit (EITC), the child tax credit (CTC), and Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC). Tax expenditures strengths: I consider that tax expenditures have three main strengths: 1) Tax expenditure concept is broadly accepted among public finance and specialists as well (Howard 2003). 2) Most budget experts view tax expenditure as a useful tool in managing the size and scope of the federal government (Burman, 2003). According to Howard, tax expenditure is good tool for seeing â€Å"The hidden welfare state.† 3) From the point of view of moderates and conservatives, tax expenditures suggest greater possi bilities for social policy expansion, they are less intrusive and less bureaucratic, and promote individual choice (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014). Tax expenditures weaknesses: From my point of view tax expenditures have three main weaknesses: 1) Unfair distributional effect. According to Howard (2007, 2012) in the case of The United States tax break significantly aggravates inequalities of income and wealth (Howard, Tax Expenditure: What They Are and Who Benefits, 2012). Most U.S tax expenditures favor high earners. Tax relief is most valuable to people who have high taxes (Halfmann 2014). For instance: mainly tax expenditures like the home mortgage interest deduction benefit primarily the middle and upper-middle classes (Howard 2007). Another example that shows this disparities is the fact that affluent workers are more likely to work for companies that offer pension and health benefits subsidized by taxpayers, while many low-wage workers work at small businesses that do not offer benefits and hence do not enjoy this tax break (Howard 2007). 2) Limited transparency, tax expenditures are tax provisions that are not structural features of the income tax or necessary to measure income accurately. Therefore is hard for policy-makers to control (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014) 2) Tax expenditures reflect political power.As I said before, U.S tax expenditures favor high earners. Therefore the most interest to maintain this scenario are employers, insurers, health care industry who participate directly or indirectly from the benefit of tax expenditures. Tax expenditure is pushed by providers not beneficiaries (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014). These providers play an important role in support political campaigns (Howard, 2007). 3. What are the main differences between the social welfare systems of the United States and Sweden? From my point of view, there are three main differences between the social welfare systems of the United States and Sweden. These a re: 1) Spending as proportion of GDP 2) Welfare regime, and 3) Gender equality. Spending as proportion of GDP. The public social expenditure as a percentage of GDP is 15.8% at The U.S. and 35.7% at Sweden. Considering tax expenditure, the relative size the American welfare state is 16.5% and at Sweden 28.5%. Therefore, under the last comparison Swedish welfare states is 1.7 times larger than the U.S. (Howard, 2003) Welfare regime. According to Olsen (2002) The United States of America has a liberal welfare regime, where the logic of the market and minimal state intervention are highlighted. It is decentralized and tax expenditure plays an important role. The U.S. as a liberal welfare state has very basic social safety net. In general liberal social programs are reactive rather than preventive. Liberal welfare states are characterized by the predominance of social assistance. This is mainly direct cash transfers or social services that use some income test to define eligibility or in some social programs the recipients for receive the benefit must be working. A good example of that is Earned Income Tax Credit. In contrast, Sweden has a social democratic welfare regime. This regime tries to provide optimal condition than only to provide basic social safety net. Their objective is not only to help the poor. They try to abolish poverty and they fight for a more egalitarian distribution of the income. In this con text full employment, well-paying job, active labor market policy, universal health care services, sickness insurance, safe working environment, generous unemployment insurance, and decent retirement are considered basis right for the residents among others (Olsen, 2002), (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014). In addition Swedish welfare has other specific programs for target population such as elderly, disabled, substance abusers, refugees and immigrants (Olsen, 2002) Furthermore, Swedish welfare has high decommodification, making people less reliant on on labor market for subsistence (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014). Gender equality. There is a huge difference how The U.S and Swedish welfare addresses gender equality in its policies. At The U.S. exists a difference between gender roles. For instance: in some areas men are getting paid more than women, there are employer discrimination in relation to women (Mommy tax) (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014). In addition, Orloff, (2002) states that The U.S. welfare has eliminated social rights and caregiving. For example: poor single mother has to work in order to receive the benefits of EITC program, but they cannot take care for their children full time. According to (Bennhold, 2010) there is gender equality in Sweden and it is fair for both women and men. For instance, it exists: job protection for non-working mothers until child is school-age 2) Paid pregnancy and Swedish fathers are mandated to take parental leave 2) and also it exists tax relief for working parents, especially single ones (Halfmann, Lecture Notes, 2014) References Bennhold, K. (2010, June 9). In Sweden, Men Can Have It all. New York Times. Burman, L. (2003). Is the Tax Expenditure Concept Still Relevant? National Tax Journal, 613-27. Halfmann, D. (2014). Social Policy [PowerPoint slides, Lecture Notes]. Howard , C. (2003). Is the American Welfare state Unusually Small? Political Sciences and Politics , 411-416. Howard, C. (2007). The Haves and the Have-Lots. Democracy Journal, 48-58. Howard, C. (2012). Tax Expenditure: What They Are and Who Benefits. Cambridge: Scholars Strategy Network. OEDC. (2010). Tax Expenditures in OECD Countries. Paris: OECD. Olsen, G. (2002). The Politics of the Welfare State: canada Sweden and the United States. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Orloff, A. (2002). Explaining US welfare reform: power, gender, race and the US policy legacy. Critical Social Policy, 96–118.

American Sniper Essay - 1331 Words

â€Å"Al-Shaitan† â€Å"The American Sniper† by Chris Kyle is an account of the deadliest American sniper ever, called â€Å"the devil† by the enemies he hunted and â€Å"the legend† by his Navy SEAL brothers. From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 150 of Kyles kills (the previous American record was 109). Iraqi insurgents feared Kyle so much they named him al-Shaitan (â€Å"the devil†) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Kyle presents the gripping and unforgettable accounts of†¦show more content†¦There are two primary views that rise from this question. The first argument claims that Chris Kyle’s actions are immoral because of his military service. 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Arthur Millers formation of a miserable story The Crucible Essay Example For Students

Arthur Millers formation of a miserable story The Crucible Essay The great play writer, Arthur Miller formed a miserable story The Crucible during the dark Mc Carthy Ela. The story was based on Salem Witch Trials and the event behind the history. The author created a parallel story to spend the reader the message of how he thinks about the Anti-Communism activity of the 1950s. The Salem Witch Trials and Anti-Communism activity of the 1950s are parallels. Many of the events are similar within The Crucible and the Red Scare. For example, Parris said, You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to your death, (pg44) a situation often seen in the Red Scare. The people in The Crucible are forced to confess-which is very similar to when people needed to confess to keep their job or their life in the Red Scare. The author used these lines to show the evilness in Salem Witch Trials in relation to the Red Scare. For people to get freedom in the Red Scare they had to accuse others and that was the hunt rule. The same thing showed up in The Crucible, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of being a witch by poking a needle in herself as proof. To help Abigail accuse other, the helpers shouted Herrick, Herrick, it is a needle. (pg74) The author points out that there are people who know the truth but do not stand for it, like the girls in The Crucible. It wasnt easy to stand for the truth because people fear it so much. Certainly, the phrase crush him might indicate kill and destroy the devil when Parris tell the girl I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face. (pg39) No one really knows how the devil is and people think the devil is in the witchcraft, but the real devil is the fear of difference. Parris think the devil is going to destroy the town so he should destroy the devil. If there is fear inside him, the devil will never disappear; in reflection to the Red Scare, the whole idea about Anti-Communism was fear. So, Arthur Miller used The Crucible as a story to reflect and parallel the Red Scare in the 1950s. The Crucible is the message about how the author feels about the Anti-communism activity in the 1950s. The Arthur Miller used many symbolic phrases or events in The Crucible to express how he fells about the Red Scare. Like when Hale says, But you must understand, sir'(pg94), shows the people have been forced to understand. The word must conveys the people in the Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare are making their choice under pressure. No one knows why the witch and the Communism are here because they can not know. But someone doesnt chose to exchange accusing others with freedom. When Giles says,I can not give you his name'(pg96), for himself, it means there are no name for him to give out; however, for the officers, it means he does not want to give out the name. The difference between the Giles and the officers are Giles believes in the truth, and the officers believe in a twisted mental idea. The officers are the people who have been twisted and twisting others, that was what authors message trying to say. Even though, they may find out they are wrong, they still think they should always be right. At one point of the story, John Proctor anger shouts in the front of everyone in the town before he die, I am John Proctor! You will not use me! (pg143). That proofed John Proctor made a real mans choice, and so did the author-Arthur Miller, he went to jail because he didnt want to twist the truth. John Proctors cry is the steadfast decision of the Arthur Miller. The author spends the reader his message of how he feels about the Red Scare by the symbolic story of The Crucible.