|
Author |
Message |
|
TAGS:
|
|
|
Manager
Joined: 21 Feb 2012
Posts: 121
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, General Management
GMAT 1: 600 Q49 V23
GPA: 3.8
WE: Information Technology (Computer Software)
Followers: 0
Kudos [?]:
12
[0], given: 15
|
One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most [#permalink]
 16 May 2012, 21:40
Question Stats:
81% (02:56) correct
18% (01:13) wrong based on 1 sessions
One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most products purchased within its jurisdiction. This tax, therefore, if viewed as tax on income, has the reverse effect of the federal income tax: the lower the income, the higher the annual percentage rate at which the income is taxed.
The conclusion above would be properly drawn if which of the following were assumed as a premise?
(A) The amount of money citizens spend on products subject to the state tax tends to be equal across income levels.
(B) The federal income tax favors citizens with high incomes, whereas the state sales tax favors citizens with low incomes.
(C) Citizens with low annual incomes can afford to pay a relatively higher percentage of their incomes in state sales tax, since their federal income tax is relatively low.
(D) The lower a state’s sales tax, the more it will tend to redistribute income from the more affluent citizens to the rest of society.
(E) Citizens who fail to earn federally taxable income are also exempt from the state sales tax.
Provide detailed explanations to your answer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manager
Joined: 28 May 2011
Posts: 200
Location: United States
Concentration: General Management, International Business
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V38
GPA: 3.6
WE: Project Management (Computer Software)
Followers: 2
Kudos [?]:
28
[1] , given: 7
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
16 May 2012, 22:15
1
This post received
KUDOS
My Answer : A Premise : One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most products purchased within its jurisdiction. This tax, therefore, if viewed as tax on income, has the reverse effect of the federal income tax Conclusions : the lower the income, the higher the annual percentage rate at which the income is taxed. So here assumption is : Everybody, regardless of income level, would spend equal amount on goods they buy. For Ex. A person who earns $1000 / month, spend $ 100 to purchase a good so He would be paying 7$ as Sales tax, which, if considered, Income tax would be 0.70% A person who earns $2000 / month, spend $ 100 to purchase a good so He would be paying 7$ as Sales tax, which, if considered, Income tax would be 0.35%
_________________
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://gmatclub.com/forum/a-guide-to-the-official-guide-13-for-gmat-review-134210.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
Intern
Joined: 05 Mar 2012
Posts: 15
GMAT 1: 770 Q50 V47
Followers: 0
Kudos [?]:
5
[0], given: 1
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
18 May 2012, 23:43
My answer is A too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Intern
Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 16
Followers: 0
Kudos [?]:
0
[0], given: 19
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
31 May 2012, 04:33
sahilkmr wrote: My answer is A too. Experts please help, this question is the bouncer went over my head.
|
|
|
|
|
|
GMAT Pill Instructor
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
Posts: 897
Location: New York, NY
Followers: 80
Kudos [?]:
218
[3] , given: 0
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
31 May 2012, 12:10
3
This post received
KUDOS
piyushksharma wrote: One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most products purchased within its jurisdiction. This tax, therefore, if viewed as tax on income, has the reverse effect of the federal income tax: the lower the income, the higher the annual percentage rate at which the income is taxed.
The conclusion above would be properly drawn if which of the following were assumed as a premise?
(A) The amount of money citizens spend on products subject to the state tax tends to be equal across income levels.
(B) The federal income tax favors citizens with high incomes, whereas the state sales tax favors citizens with low incomes.
(C) Citizens with low annual incomes can afford to pay a relatively higher percentage of their incomes in state sales tax, since their federal income tax is relatively low.
(D) The lower a state’s sales tax, the more it will tend to redistribute income from the more affluent citizens to the rest of society.
(E) Citizens who fail to earn federally taxable income are also exempt from the state sales tax.
Provide detailed explanations to your answer. You have to really understand the structure of the sentence here in order to figure out what direction you're going. If you read this sentence with the part following the ":" as describing the federal income tax, you would be wrong. The portion after the ":" is actually describing "this tax". We just know that "this tax" has the reverse effect of "federal income tax" - why? Because of the material after the ":" - higher % taxes when income is lower. So, it's "this tax" that has higher % of taxes when income is lower....NOT that federal income tax has higher % tax rate on lower income people. How do we know that "this tax" has a higher % of taxes? Well, we have one statement/fact that sales tax is 7%. In order to support and strengthen the link between assumption and argument (ie sales tax being 7% affecting "this tax" having higher tax % for lower income ppl)? Well, if we know that everyone spends the same amount on products and pays the same amount in sales tax (in terms of actual dollar figures), then we know for sure that the % on the lower income ppl is going to be higher. $10 in sales tax on $100 income is 10%. $10 in sales tax on $1000 income is 1%. Clearly, the rich guy is paying lower sales tax as a percentage of overall income, while paying equally in terms of actual sales tax dollars paid. The reason why this matters is it can be entirely true that rich ppl buy more products and as a result pay more in overall sales taxes. It's quite possible that rich ppl pay $100 in sales taxes because they buy more, and as a % of overall income it's equal to poor people at 10%. By introducing the fact that everyone spends the same, we eliminate this possibility leaving the only possibility that poorer people pay higher % of their income toward these sales taxes.
_________________
      
... and more
Zeke Lee, GMAT Pill Study Method (Study Less. Score More.) | Download Ebook
- How A McKinsey Analyst Struggled with GMAT for 2 Yrs
- GMAT Score From 650 to 760 + 25 Minutes left on the exam! Wow!
GMAT Pill Reviews
|
|
|
|
|
|
SVP
Joined: 01 Sep 2010
Posts: 1749
Followers: 56
Kudos [?]:
582
[0], given: 467
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
06 Jun 2012, 18:26
So the OA for this question is A or B ??? I picked B.
_________________
KUDOS is the good manner to help the entire community.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manager
Joined: 02 Jan 2011
Posts: 201
Followers: 1
Kudos [?]:
20
[0], given: 22
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
06 Jun 2012, 21:17
Thank you for a very good explanation GmatPill. I went with A as well. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Intern
Joined: 17 May 2012
Posts: 17
Followers: 0
Kudos [?]:
0
[0], given: 2
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
07 Jun 2012, 08:34
Great question! Nice explanation by the GMATpill Instructor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Verbal GMAT Forum Moderator
Status: Flying over the cloud!
Joined: 17 Aug 2011
Posts: 787
Location: Viet Nam
Concentration: International Business, Finance
GPA: 3.07
Followers: 18
Kudos [?]:
80
[0], given: 35
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
07 Jun 2012, 21:40
|
|
|
|
|
|
Intern
Joined: 05 Dec 2011
Posts: 47
Followers: 0
Kudos [?]:
0
[0], given: 18
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
07 Jun 2012, 22:36
Nice question,good explanation
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manager
Affiliations: Project Management Professional (PMP)
Joined: 30 Jun 2011
Posts: 215
Location: New Delhi, India
Followers: 2
Kudos [?]:
9
[0], given: 12
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
12 Jun 2012, 07:07
Great Question and an equally amazing explanation by GMAT Pill.. thanks
_________________
Best
Vaibhav
If you found my contribution helpful, please click the +1 Kudos button on the left, Thanks
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manager
Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 171
Location: India
Concentration: Technology, General Management
GMAT Date: 07-23-2012
WE: Programming (Telecommunications)
Followers: 0
Kudos [?]:
26
[0], given: 4
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
12 Jun 2012, 09:26
very difficult one. got A in 2:19 :-/ btw nice explanation by gmatpill.
_________________
FOCUS..this is all I need!
Ku-Do!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Senior Manager
Joined: 15 Sep 2009
Posts: 272
GMAT 1: 750 Q V
Followers: 4
Kudos [?]:
35
[0], given: 6
|
Re: SOLVE THIS One [#permalink]
19 Jun 2012, 09:12
A by POE. Excellent breakdown by GMATPill. Posted from my mobile device 
_________________
+1 Kudos me - I'm half Irish, half Prussian.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manager
Status: Trying to get 720+ - DIDN'T GIVE UP !!
Joined: 24 Aug 2011
Posts: 183
Location: India
Concentration: Entrepreneurship, Finance
GMAT 1: 600 Q48 V25
GMAT 2: 660 Q50 V29
WE: Engineering (Computer Software)
Followers: 0
Kudos [?]:
13
[1] , given: 95
|
Re: One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most [#permalink]
07 Jul 2012, 01:13
1
This post received
KUDOS
One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most products purchased within its jurisdiction. This tax, therefore, if viewed as tax on income, has the reverse effect of the federal income tax: the lower the income, the higher the annual percentage rate at which the income is taxed.
The conclusion above would be properly drawn if which of the following were assumed as a premise?(A) The amount of money citizens spend on products subject to the state tax tends to be equal across income levels.Consider two citizens - Mr R ( Mr rich) and Mr P ( Mr Poor)
Income of R per year : $1000
Amount of money spent on different products by R per year = $10
Amount of sales tax R has to pay = 7% of $10 = $ 0.7
Annual percentage on which the income of R is taxed = .07/1000 * 100 = .007%
Income of P per year: $100
Amount of money spent on different products by P per year = $10
Amount of sales tax R has to pay = 7% of $10 = $ 0.7
Annual percentage on which the income of R is taxed = .07/100 * 100 = .007%
So, we find that if the amount of money citizens spend on products subject to the state tax tends to be equal across income levels, then the lower the income, the higher the annual percentage rate at which the income is taxed. Hence (A) is indispensible for the conclusion. So, this is the correct answer choice (B) The federal income tax favors citizens with high incomes, whereas the state sales tax favors citizens with low incomes.This option does not give a quantitative analysis as to how there would be higher annual percentage rate of taxation when income is lower. (C) Citizens with low annual incomes can afford to pay a relatively higher percentage of their incomes in state sales tax, since their federal income tax is relatively low.We are not concerned whether people can afford to pay the tax or not. We are interested to now why there would be higher annual percentage rateof taxation when income is lower. (D) The lower a state’s sales tax, the more it will tend to redistribute income from the more affluent citizens to the rest of society.This is out of scope. We are not bothered whether income is redistributed from the more affluent citizens to the rest of society. (E) Citizens who fail to earn federally taxable income are also exempt from the state sales tax.This is also out of scope. This doesnt explain why there would be higher annual percentage rate of taxation when income is lower.
_________________
Didn't give up !!! Still Trying!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manager
Status: Juggg..Jugggg Go!
Joined: 11 May 2012
Posts: 245
Location: India
GC Meter: A.W.E.S.O.M.E
Concentration: Entrepreneurship, General Management
GMAT 1: 620 Q46 V30
GMAT 2: 720 Q50 V38
Followers: 4
Kudos [?]:
20
[0], given: 225
|
Re: One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most [#permalink]
07 Jul 2012, 02:15
Oops i thought B. Dint really understand the question, took a guess as time was running out ;( good explanation by gmatpill and praticegmat
_________________
You haven't failed, if you haven't given up!
---
Asax
I blog at www.bschooladmit.wordpress.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
Intern
Joined: 25 Mar 2012
Posts: 34
Followers: 0
Kudos [?]:
0
[0], given: 26
|
Re: One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most [#permalink]
18 Jul 2012, 04:18
me too .. as the time was running out i chose B in 2:11  then i read the question again and got A right .. didnt understnd the question at the first go
|
|
|
|
|
|
Senior Manager
Joined: 15 Jun 2010
Posts: 361
Schools: IE'14, ISB'14, Kellogg'15
WE 1: 7 Yrs in Automobile (Commercial Vehicle industry)
Followers: 4
Kudos [?]:
81
[0], given: 50
|
Re: One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most [#permalink]
29 Jul 2012, 23:44
i picked A. whats the OA. I think A pass the negation test.
_________________
Regards
SD
-----------------------------
Press Kudos if you like my post.
Debrief 610-540-580-710(Long Journey): from-600-540-580-710-finally-achieved-in-4th-attempt-142456.html
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manager
Joined: 24 Sep 2008
Posts: 197
Schools: MIT / INSEAD / IIM - ABC
Followers: 1
Kudos [?]:
9
[0], given: 7
|
Re: One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most [#permalink]
30 Jul 2012, 01:02
piyushksharma wrote: One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most products purchased within its jurisdiction. This tax, therefore, if viewed as tax on income, has the reverse effect of the federal income tax: the lower the income, the higher the annual percentage rate at which the income is taxed.
The conclusion above would be properly drawn if which of the following were assumed as a premise?
(A) The amount of money citizens spend on products subject to the state tax tends to be equal across income levels.
(B) The federal income tax favors citizens with high incomes, whereas the state sales tax favors citizens with low incomes.
(C) Citizens with low annual incomes can afford to pay a relatively higher percentage of their incomes in state sales tax, since their federal income tax is relatively low.
(D) The lower a state’s sales tax, the more it will tend to redistribute income from the more affluent citizens to the rest of society.
(E) Citizens who fail to earn federally taxable income are also exempt from the state sales tax.
Provide detailed explanations to your answer. My 2 cents: By reading the premises, i could infer: there is a sales tax applicable on all the products - connection of this tax on income levels - which is NEGATIVE - So, possibly people are paying equal taxes across income levels (A) Same as i prephrased(B) There's no indication of favoring income levels mentioned. So, OOS (C) It doesn't say talk about low income tax for lower level of income (D) Out of scope (E) Again out of scope Partly used prephrasing of assumption & partly POE technique Cheers GODSPEED
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manager
Joined: 02 Jan 2011
Posts: 201
Followers: 1
Kudos [?]:
20
[0], given: 22
|
Re: One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most [#permalink]
30 Jul 2012, 03:39
Picked B. After reading the reply by Gmat Pill, I now understand why it is A. Thank you GMAT Pill.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: One state adds a 7 percent sales tax to the price of most
[#permalink]
30 Jul 2012, 03:39
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Moderators:
metallicafan, rajeevrks27, souvik101990, PTK, MacFauz, noboru, kissthegmat, carcass, willigetmylifeback, mikemcgarry, doe007, Vercules, Legendaddy, tuanquang269, RaviChandra, Marcab, Narenn
|
close
