VOA慢速英语20060414a

ECONOMICS REPORT - Tax Time in AmericaBy Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, April 14, 2006

I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

This year, April seventeenth is the last day for Americans to pay federal income taxes for two thousand five.

Most taxpayers¹ have had enough income tax collected by their employers during the year. So they do not owe any more money. In fact, most Americans get some money back. Last year, the Internal Revenue Service returned at least some money to more than one hundred million Americans paying individual income tax.


Millions of Americans send the 1040 income tax form to the I.R.S every April

The United States has what is called a progressive tax system. Tax rates increase as earnings² increase. This year, people earning more than three hundred twenty-six thousand dollars are taxed at the highest rate.

Earnings above that amount are taxed at thirty-five percent. Earnings below that amount are taxed at lower rates.

Individuals who earn less than seven thousand three hundred dollars pay no income tax. But they do pay Social Security, Medicare and other taxes.

There are many different ways for people and businesses to reduce their federal income taxes. Most homeowners, for example, can reduce their taxes a little by reporting to the I.R.S. the interest they pay on a home loan. This is called a tax deduction⁴.

Companies deduct³ many costs involved in doing business. And many industries can deduct costs of research, exploring for natural resources and the use of property and equipment.

In two thousand four, personal income taxes provided the government with most of its money: thirty-five percent of the budget. Social security and other retirement⁵ taxes provided thirty-two percent. Other forms of income include business income taxes, money borrowed to cover the deficit⁶ and special taxes on trade and property.

But income from taxes did not provide enough to pay for government spending. The I.R.S. says the budget deficit for two thousand four was about four hundred thousand million dollars.

Preparing tax documents can be complex. The I.R.S. estimates that taxpayers need an average of about thirteen hours to prepare tax documents. And that is just for the basic tax form. For businesses, the I.R.S estimates an average tax preparer needs more than fifty hours. This is why a lot of Americans pay professional tax preparers to complete their tax documents for them.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. Our reports are online at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 deduct   

vt.扣除，减去

参考例句：

• You can deduct the twenty - five cents out of my allowance.你可在我的零用钱里扣去二角五分钱。
• On condition of your signing this contract,I will deduct a percentage.如果你在这份合同上签字，我就会给你减免一个百分比。

4 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

6 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。