Writing Task 2

People should keep all the money they earn and should not pay taxes to the state. Do you agree or disagree?

The role of taxation is providing funds necessary for carrying out a variety of functions in a country. However, to many taxpayers, especially employers, paying tax remains the biggest headache. In my opinion, tax revenue is essential to a country. Below are some of its main functions.

Although many taxpayers see income tax as an appropriation of their earnings, tax is in fact, a relief to taxpayers and their families, for example, by providing a safeguard against unemployment and a solution to other problems that they may confront in life. For example, those who lose their earning capabilities because of injuries, diseases and disabilities are entitled to the government's financial support, derived mainly from tax revenue. There is no point in denying that tax is the principal source of finance that sustains many of the benefits offered by the welfare system of a country. Although most workers are not the beneficiaries currently, they will count on these benefits in their later years (as pensioners). So will their dependents (children and parents).

Taxation is meanwhile an effective tool by which a society can achieve the redistribution of income and close the gap between haves and have-nots. In most countries, as a general rule, the higher the personal income, the higher the income tax. By imposing different tax rates, the government is able to distribute the tax burden across social classes, reducing income disparity between the rich and the poor.

Corporate tax is deemed by business as a regular cost, which must be kept to a minimum, but it is not necessarily a bank. By levying different types of tax, the government can exert an influence on macroeconomic performance, which in turn influences the income of the business world. When the economy is on the verge of a recession, the government can reduce the tax and present tax incentives, which proves to be an effective policy in reviving the economy. By contrast, during the periods of growth, the government can raise the tax rate so as to prevent an overheated economy and combat inflation. It is fair to say that tax is one of the main tools in establishing a healthy environment conducive to business's sustained growth.

What has been discussed above are the benefits brought by taxation, all being essential to a country, its businesses and individual taxpayers. Although many taxpayers feel pressured by taxes, they will eventually benefit from the taxes they have paid and should therefore bear tax liabilities.


1.     headache = problem = annoyance
2.     appropriation = acquisition = seizure = requisition
3.     earning = remuneration = wage = income = take-home pay = salary
4.     safeguard = protection = precaution
5.     later years = last few years of one's life
6.     haves and have-nots = rich and poor
7.     recession = downturn = depression = slump
8.     incentive = encouragement