Grammar in Use Articles

6. Fill in articles where necessary.

1. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is … department in the United States Treasury.

2. This money is used by … government to provide services to the people living in … America.

3. Are you … UK resident?

4. There are … number of different taxes that you may have to pay in … UK.

5. The financial year starts on … sixth of April in one year and ends on … fifth of April in the following year.

6. A person needs to work for about … 10 years.

7. The USA Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is … most complex in the world.

8. … individual is assessed for income tax for the financial year.

9. You need to complete … tax return.

10. … certain amount of this money is withheld from your paycheck.

7. Find the mistakes and correct them.

1. Most of public expenditure is financed through a taxation and government borrowing.

2. A UK government is known to take nearly 40 % of national income in taxes.

3. In most countries there are a campaigns for cutting government spending.

4. It is important to analyze a profits shown in the accounts.

5. The income of an sole proprietorship must be reported on the proprietor’s individual tax return.

6. All individuals resident in an country are liable to income tax.

7. Retailer will pay value added tax on goods he buys.

8. Sales taxes fall on the wide range of products.

Speaking Task

8. Work in pairs. Discuss with your partner taxation in the UK and in the USA. What are the main features of these systems?

Writing

9. Write a short report (10-12 sentences). Find information about taxation in Russia. Compare taxation of our country with taxation in the USA and the UK. Do these systems have much in common? Is there any difference?

Unit III

Value Added Tax

Reading

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax that's charged on most goods and services that VAT-registered businesses provide in the UK. It's also charged on goods and some services that are imported from countries outside the European Union (EU), and brought into the UK from other EU countries.

VAT is a tax that's charged on most business transactions in the UK. Businesses add VAT to the price they charge when they provide goods and services to:

- business customers - for example a clothing manufacturer adds VAT to the prices they charge a clothes shop;

- non-business customers - members of the public or 'consumers' - for example a hairdressing salon includes VAT in the prices they charge members of the public.

If you're a VAT-registered business, in most cases you:

- charge VAT on the goods and services you provide;

- reclaim the VAT you pay when you buy goods and services for your business.

If you're not VAT-registered then you can't reclaim the VAT you pay when you purchase goods and services.

In some circumstances you might be able to get a refund of VAT you have paid, for example if you live outside the EU and are visiting the UK.

Each EU country has its own rates of VAT. In the UK there are three rates. You pay VAT on most goods and services in the UK at the standard rate. The standard rate of VAT increased to 20 per cent on 4 January 2011 but was 17.5 per cent.

In some cases, you pay a reduced rate of 5 per cent, for example for children's car seats, gas and electricity for your home.

There are some goods on which you don't pay any VAT, like:

- basic food items;

- books, newspapers and magazines;

- children's clothes;

- some goods provided in special circumstances - for example, equipment for disabled people.

Some business supplies are not subject to VAT and do not form part of VAT taxable turnover. These include insurance as well as some types of selling, leasing, but excluding garages, parking spaces, hotels and holiday accommodation.