It is not correct that the people of the United States, relative to comparable countries, are the most lightly taxed. True, the United States has the lowest tax, as percent of gross domestic product, of the Western industrialized countries, but tax rates alone do not tell the whole story. People in the but private health-care expenditures represent another 7 percent. This 7 percent, then, amounts to a tax.
What this question is testing
Conclusion
The author wants to push back on the idea that Americans are the most lightly taxed people in the West.
Evidence
Yes, U.S. taxes are the lowest as a percent of GDP. But Americans pay out of pocket for things — like health care — that other countries cover with tax dollars. The author says the 7% of GDP Americans spend on private health care "amounts to a tax."
Evaluate
Watch the move closely. The author is calling private health-care spending a tax. But a tax is, by definition, money you pay to the government, not your insurance company or doctor. The author is stretching the word "tax" to make the comparison work.
It's like arguing that car payments are basically a tax because they're a recurring expense — sure, both come out of your wallet, but that doesn't make them the same kind of thing.
Goal
The right answer will say the argument inflates or extends the meaning of a key term.
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