Taxes: kinds, who collects them and what they pay for

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Maple Hollow's budget (an invented town; cards A to C). Card A, the town's yearly spending, $12 million in all: schools $5.4 million, roads $2.4 million, police and fire $2.4 million, parks and library $1.2 million, other costs $0.6 million. Card B, where the money comes from: property tax $7.2 million, sales tax $3.6 million, fees for permits and pools $1.2 million. Property tax is charged to people who own land and buildings; sales tax is added to purchases made in town. Card C, two statements about a plan to raise the property tax bill of every owner by 5 percent. The mayor's letter, written to ask voters to approve the plan, says the schools need new buses. A residents' group flyer, written to ask voters to reject it, says homeowners on small incomes are already stretched.

2. 1.

   Why was the mayor's letter written, and what does that mean for how to read it, Ari asks?

   • To report the budget facts without taking any side on the plan
   • To win votes for the plan, so it makes the case for the plan
   • To share a view that a historian should set aside as biased
   • To list the town's spending and income for the record
3. 2.

   The schools get $5.4 million of the $12 million budget. What share of spending is that, Bo asks?

   • 54 percent
   • 45 percent
   • 20 percent
   • 5.4 percent
4. 3.

   The plan raises the $7.2 million property tax by 5 percent. How many dollars is the increase, Esme asks?

   • $36,000
   • $3,600,000
   • $7,560,000
   • $360,000
5. 4.

   A student says, "Card C proves most Maple Hollow homeowners oppose the plan." How strong is that claim, Jun asks?

   • Weak: a flyer is written to persuade, so it cannot be used as evidence
   • Weak: card C holds one group's flyer, with no count of homeowners
   • Strong: the mayor's letter and the flyer both ask voters to reject the plan
   • Strong: a flyer from a residents' group speaks for most of the town
6. 5.

   Property tax brings in $7.2 million of the town's $12 million. What share of the town's money is that, Kira asks?

   • 60 percent
   • 30 percent
   • 72 percent
   • 40 percent
7. 6.

   Whose point of view does the flyer on card C speak for, Luz asks?

   • Shop owners, who add the sales tax to what shoppers buy
   • School bus drivers, who would lose work if the plan failed
   • The whole town, since a property tax bill reaches each household
   • Homeowners on small incomes, who feel stretched by their bills
8. 7.

   If voters approve the plan, what happens first to a homeowner, Milo asks?

   • The homeowner's sales tax at the store goes up by 5 percent
   • The homeowner's property tax bill goes up by 5 percent
   • The schools have new buses, with no waiting for the money to come in
   • The homeowner's fees for permits and pools stop
9. 8.

   What would best test the flyer's claim that homeowners on small incomes are stretched, Pia asks?

   • A price list for the new school buses that the mayor wants to buy
   • A second flyer from the same group saying the same thing
   • Records of homeowners' incomes and tax bills over several years
   • No evidence could test it, since a flyer is just an opinion
10. 9.

    What is each source on card C most likely to leave out, Ren asks?

    • The letter may skip the cost to owners, and the flyer may skip what buses would do
    • Neither leaves anything out, because both were written by townspeople
    • The letter may skip the plan's name, and the flyer may skip its date
    • The letter may skip what buses would do, and the flyer may skip the cost to owners
11. 10.

    The plan pays for school buses by raising owners' bills. What trade-off does the flyer point to, Zee asks?

    • Roads gain money while schools lose money
    • Schools gain money while homeowners pay less
    • Shoppers gain money while shop owners pay less sales tax
    • Schools gain money while homeowners pay more