Raising the tax rate on essential

Answer choices

1. A

   Out of Scope Comparison6% picked this

   Will luxury goods be taxed at a higher rate than that at which essential goods

   It doesn't make any difference whether the raised luxury item tax rate is higher than / equal to / less than the current essential goods tax rate. None of those possibilities lead to us saying "rich people won't buy luxury items anymore" or "non-rich people will be affected".

   6%
2. B

   Out of Scope Comparison28% picked this

   Will the revenues generated by the proposed tax be comparable to those that are currently being generated by

   It doesn't make any difference whether the luxury item tax revenue ends up higher than / equal to / less than the current tax revenue we get from essential goods. All we care about is whether it's a substantial increase.

   28%
3. C

   Correct54% picked this

   Will sales of the luxury items subject to the proposed tax occur at current rates once the proposed tax on

   Why this is right

   Wow, this is a poorly written correct answer. The problem with it is that it's phrased as "Same vs. Different", and Different could work in favor of the prediction or against the prediction. This is getting at our potential concern that the higher tax may decrease the rate of buying these luxury items, and so we might not get a substantial increase in tax revenue. I guess they're pairing up this binary of "same vs. different" with our common sense: If luxury items continue to sell at the same rate, that would Strengthen the likelihood of the prediction coming true. If luxury items don't continue to sell at the current rate, they'd either be selling at a higher rate than before, or lower. But there's no common sense world in which "raising a tax on the luxury goods leads to a higher rate of them being purchased". So if they're not selling at the current rate, they'd be selling at a lower rate. And if they sell at a lower rate, then it calls into question whether the government would really get a substantial increase in tax revenue. Ultimately, it's just the only answer that allows us to have any weakening effect, but it's a pretty weak objection we're making.

   Skill tested: Evaluate · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   54%
4. D

   Out of Scope: lower class approval10% picked this

   Will the proposed tax on luxury items win support for the government in the eyes of

   Whether lower income people are happy or not with the government for adding this tax has nothing to do with the likelihood of the tax raising revenue.

   10%
5. E

   Out of Scope Comparison1% picked this

   Will purchases of luxury items by corporations account for more of the revenue generated by the proposed tax than will purchases of

   It doesn't make any difference to this prediction whether more of the revenue increase comes from individuals than from corporations (or vice versa).

   1%