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

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

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

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

   • 72 percent
   • 60 percent
   • 40 percent
   • 30 percent
5. 4.

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

   • School bus drivers, who would lose work if the plan failed
   • 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
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
   • $3,150
   • $1,500
   • $15
8. 7.

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

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

    • The town must borrow $12 million to pay its bills this year
    • The town is saving $12 million for next year to spend on roads
    • Taxes bring in the whole $12 million, with nothing else added
    • Balanced: the town plans to spend the $12 million it takes in
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
    • Schools gain money while homeowners pay less
    • Schools gain money while homeowners pay more
    • Roads gain money while schools lose money