2. Answer the questions to the text:

1. Name the tools of fiscal policy.

2. What is personal allowance?

3. If people have less disposable income, what will happen to spending?

4. What will the government do to taxes if the economy is slowing down?

5. If aggregate demand in a country falls, what will it lead to?

6. How can the government create more demand in the economy?

3. Fill in the gaps with the words from the text:

1. The … department of the government looks after roads, railways and airports.

2. The parts that something is made of are called … .

3. … employment is when everyone who can work has a job.

4. The part of a person’s salary that is not taxed is called their personal … .

5. The government plans many new … projects, such as building new hospitals and schools.

6. A … is a large, fast road which connects cities.

7. A … is a plan for achieving something.

8. In a … tax system, people who earn more pay more tax than people who earn less.

4. Translate the text using a dictionary (time limit – 30 minutes):

Taxation is one of the main sources of revenue for governments and it is an important tool for a government’s fiscal policy. But taxes are also a problem for governments because nobody likes to pay tax. If the tax system is not good, the people may just throw out the government.

But what makes a tax system good? Adam Smith, the so-called father of economics answered this question a long time ago. He said that there were four things a good tax should have:

The first is that the tax must be easy and cheap to collect. It’s a waste of time setting taxes if they cost a fortune to collect. The second is that they should be easy to understand for the payer. Taxpayers should clearly understand how the tax is calculated, how much they have to pay and when. The third rule of good taxation is that the tax should be convenient for the payer. For example, the taxpayer shouldn’t have to wait in long queues to pay their taxes. The fourth rule is that it should be fair. In other words, people should pay what they can afford and not more. (1035)

5. Translate the sentences into English:

1. Налогово-бюджетная политика регулирует работу налоговой системы и правительственных расходов.

2. Налоговая система и правительственные расходы влияют на экономический рост в стране.

3. Система прогрессивного налогообложения действует во многих странах мира.

4. Чем больше денег человек зарабатывает, тем выше налог, который он платит.

5. Если совокупный спрос в стране падает, то экономика нуждается в увеличении спроса на товары и услуги.

6. Правительство может обеспечить увеличение спроса на товары и услуги путем расходования большой суммы денег на общественные проекты.

7. Те деньги, которые работающие люди расходуют, становятся доходом для других людей.

19 Monetary Policy

Monetary policy is another tool that governments use to control the economy. Monetary policy mainly involves making changes to the interest rate. It can also involve changing the amount of money that circulates round the economy. However, this second kind of monetary policy isn’t used very often because it can lead to inflation. Changing interest rates, on the other hand, is a method that is used quite frequently for slowing down or speeding up the economy. So, how does it work?

Basically, commercial banks – the ones that you and I use to keep our savings in and to borrow from – borrow their money from the country’s central bank. This is the national or government bank, and it has the power to set interest rates. The interest rate of the central bank will influence the rates commercial banks set for their customers. When interest rates go up, borrowing money becomes more expensive. When they go down, it becomes cheaper.

People get loans from banks for all sorts of reasons, but the biggest loan most people take out is to buy a house. This kind of loan is called a mortgage. When interest rates increase, mortgages become more expensive. People who already have a mortgage will need to pay more on their repayments, and will have less money to spend on other things. Fewer people will want to buy new houses and house prices will fall. In turn, home owners will feel less confident about their own wealth and will spend less. As a result, the economy slows down. A fall in interest rates will have the opposite effect on the house buying chain.

Consumers also buy other things using borrowed money. This is called buying on credit, and interest rates will also affect how much people spend on credit. Purchases made using credit cards are now a huge proportion of total spending in many countries. This means that interest rate changes have a big impact on consumer spending and the economy as a whole.

Companies too, are affected by interest rate changes. When interest rates are low, they feel more confident about investing in order to expand their business. Low interest rates will encourage them to take out loans in order to build factories, buy machines and increase production. All of this increases the size of national output. Again, higher interest rates will have the opposite effect.

Finally, interest rates can have an effect on the amount of exports a country sells. This is because the value of a currency (the exchange rate) often falls when the interest rate falls. When the value of a currency falls, a nation’s products and services become cheaper for customers from other countries. This increases export sales, and more money comes into the economy. And, of course, a rise in interest rates will mean a rise in the exchange rate. This will reduce export sales, and reduce the total output of the economy. (2367)

19.1 Find in the text the English equivalents to the following words and word combinations: кредитно-денежная политика, изменения в процентную ставку, количество денег, с другой стороны, замедлить, ускорить, хранить сбережения, брать займы, ипотека, погашение (займа), владельцы домов, противоположное воздействие, покупать в кредит, кредитная карта, огромная доля, общие расходы, большое воздействие, оказывать влияние, чтобы, расширять, национальный выпуск продукции, стоимость валюты, снизить продажу товаров на экспорт.