Text 2 Economic refugees have traditionally lined up to get into America.lAtely,they have been lining up to leave.In the past few months,half a dozen biggish comparues have announced plans to merge with foreign partners and in the process move their corporate homes abroad.The motive is simple:corporate taxes are lower in Ireland,Britain and,for that matter,almost everywhere else than they are in America.In Washington,D.C.,policymakers have reacted wiLh indignation.Jack Lew,the treasury secretary,has quesLioned che companies'patriotism and called on Congress to outlaw such transactions.His fellow Democrats are eager to oblige,and some Republicans are willing to listen.The proposals are misguided.Tightening the rules on corporate"inversions",as these moves are called,does nothing to deal with the reason why so many firms want to leave:America has the rich world's most dysfunctional corporate-tax system.It needs fundamental reform,not new complications.America's corporate tax has two horrible flaws.The first is the tax rate,which at 35%is the lughest among the 34 mostly rich-country members of the OECD.Yet it raises less revenue than the OECD average ihanks to countless loopholes and tax breaks aimed at everything from machinery investment to NASCAR race tracks.Last year these breaks cost$150 billion in forgone revenue,more than half of what America collected in total corporate taxes.The second flaw is that America levies lax on a company's income no matter where in the world it is eamed.In contrast,every other large rich country taxes only income eamed within its borders.Here,too,America's system is absurdly ineffective at collecting money.Firms do not have to pay tax on foreign profits until Lhey bring them back home.Not surprisingly,many do not:American multinationals have some$2 trillion sittiry;on their foreign units'balance-sheets,and growing.All this imposes big costs on the economy.The high rate discourages investment and loopholes distort it,because decisions are driven by tax considerations rather than a project's economic merits.The tax rate companies actually pay varies wildly,depending on cheir type of business and the creativity of their lawyers:some pay close to zero,others the fuU 35%.But as other countries chopped their rates and America's stayed the same,the incentive to flee grew.A possible solution is to lower the corporate rate,eliminate tax breaks and move America from a worldwide system to a territonal one.
We can infer from Paragraph 4 that______
- A.some tax reduction in America might be irrational
- B.most rich countries in OECD have sound tax systems
- C.America's corporate tax rale is the highesL in the world
- D.American firms raise less revenue than other countries
正确答案及解析
正确答案
解析
推理题。定位到第四段。选项[A]some tax reduction in America might be irrational“美国一些税收减免可能不太合理”；该段最后一句提到：Last year these breaks cost$150 billion in forgone revenue,more than half of what America collected in total corporate taxes.“在去年损失的收人中，减免的税收占了1500亿美元，超过美国征得的企业税总额的一半”。其中．these breaks指代上文的lax breaks“税收减免”，该句大意是：税收减免使美国损失大量收入。由此可见“美国的一些税收减免不合理”这一表述是正确的。其中．tax reduction=tax breaks;irrational=cost$150 billion inforgone revenue;故[A]为答案。选项[B]most rich countries in OECD have sound tax systems“经合组织多数富裕国家拥有健全的税收制度”；该项是无中生有。选项[C]America's corporate tax rate is the highest in Lhe world“美国企业税率是世界最高的”；原文说：T1e first is the tax rate，which at 35%is the highest amon8 the 34 mostly rich-country members of the OECD.由此可知，美国企业税率是经合组织里最高的，但是否是世界最高，文章并没有提及，该项把OECD换成world．属于偷换概念。选项[D]American firms raise less revenue than other countries'‘美国公司收益低于其他国家的公司”：该项对应的句子为：Yet it raises less revenue than the OECD average...其中it指代America“美国”，而不是American firms“美国公司”，该项也是偷换概念。而且美国的税收收入是低于the OECD average，而不是低于other countries，综上，本题答案为[A]。
