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.

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

   • 5.4 percent
   • 54 percent
   • 45 percent
   • 20 percent
3. 2.

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

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

   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
   • Strong: the mayor's letter and the flyer both ask voters to reject the plan
   • Weak: card C holds one group's flyer, with no count of homeowners
   • Strong: a flyer from a residents' group speaks for most of the town
5. 4.

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

   • The whole town, since a property tax bill reaches each household
   • Shop owners, who add the sales tax to what shoppers buy
   • Homeowners on small incomes, who feel stretched by their bills
   • School bus drivers, who would lose work if the plan failed
6. 5.

   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 homeowner's fees for permits and pools stop
   • The schools have new buses, with no waiting for the money to come in
7. 6.

   A home's property tax bill is $3,000. The plan raises it by 5 percent. How much more does the owner pay, Noah asks?

   • $150
   • $15
   • $3,150
   • $1,500
8. 7.

   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
   • Records of homeowners' incomes and tax bills over several years
   • A second flyer from the same group saying the same thing
   • No evidence could test it, since a flyer is just an opinion
9. 8.

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

   • The letter may skip what buses would do, and the flyer may skip the cost to owners
   • The letter may skip the plan's name, and the flyer may skip its date
   • 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
10. 9.

    Card A's spending is $12 million and card B's income is $12 million. What does that show, Tala asks?

    • Balanced: the town plans to spend the $12 million it takes in
    • The town must borrow $12 million to pay its bills this year
    • Taxes bring in the whole $12 million, with nothing else added
    • The town is saving $12 million for next year to spend on roads
11. 10.

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

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