aaba wrote:
hello, I did choose D as the correct answer, but I cannot understand how D can connect anything with the premises or the conclusion of the argument. Please help me to understand such gmat method in CR questions.
Thanks.
Quote:
Vorland’s government is planning a nationwide ban on smoking in restaurants. The objection that the ban would reduce restaurants’ revenues is ill founded. Several towns in Vorland enacted restaurant smoking restrictions five years ago. Since then, the amount the government collects in restaurant meal taxes in those towns has increased 34 percent, on average, but only 26 percent elsewhere in Vorland. The amount collected in restaurant meal taxes closely reflects restaurants’ revenues.
Which of the following, if true, most undermines the defense of the government’s plan?
A. When the state first imposed a restaurant meal tax, opponents predicted that restaurants’ revenues would decline as a result, a prediction that proved to be correct in the short term.
B. The tax on meals in restaurants is higher than the tax on many other goods and services.
C. Over the last five years, smoking has steadily declined throughout Vorland.
D. In many of the towns that restrict smoking in restaurants, restaurants can maintain separate dining areas where smoking is permitted.
E. Over the last five years, government revenues from sales taxes have grown no faster in the towns with restaurant smoking restrictions than in the towns that have no such restrictions.
The key is to notice that the government is considering a BAN on smoking in restaurants. To defend the ban, the author of the passage uses evidence from a RESTRICTION on smoking in restaurants. Imposing a
ban might be much different than imposing
restrictions.
Choice (D) illustrates this point. The restaurants in towns with restrictions were fine because, despite the restrictions, those restaurants could allow customers to smoke in separate dining areas. If those towns had smoking
bans instead of smoking
restrictions, separate dining areas for smokers would not be allowed and perhaps revenues would decrease.
The author's evidence suggests that revenues might not decrease when smoking
restrictions are implemented. But this doesn't necessarily provide any evidence related to the effect of a smoking
ban.
If choice (D) is true, then the author's argument falls apart, so (D) is the best answer.
TaN1213 wrote:
GMATNinja,
Hello,
What if the government has increased the % of tax collected from restaurants , say the tax % has increased to 10% from 5%, in such case the amount the government collects in restaurant meal taxes in those towns can increase 34 percent, on average, but only 26 percent elsewhere in Vorland. E excludes this possibility and hence, undermines the conclusion.
Where as 'can' in D doesn't guarantee that the restaurants have adopted this measure.
What am I missing?
Thank you
Choice (E) does not actually tell us whether meal tax rates were increased or decreased. Choice (E) simply tells us that total revenue from SALES taxes (much more general than just meal taxes) did not grow any faster in towns with restrictions. Even if choice (E) is true, revenue from MEAL taxes may have grown faster in towns with restrictions. The restaurants in the towns with restrictions may have done very well, while other kinds of shops did very well in the towns WITHOUT restrictions.
In that case, the total sales taxes may have increased by about the same amount in all towns, even though restaurants in towns with the restrictions did much better than restaurants in other towns. So even if (E) is true, the defense of the plan may not be undermined. Yes, we can think of a situation in which (E) is true and the author's argument is weakened. But without further information, we don't know whether (E) undermines the defense of the plan.
Remember that we are not trying to PROVE that the government's plan will fail. We are only looking for the answer choice that MOST undermines the defense of the plan. We could certainly come up with scenarios in which (D) is true and the plan is not undermined. But (D) undermines the defense of the plan more than any of the other choice, so it is the best answer.