Chapter 19, Problem 1.1P

To determine

Calculate the average tax rate and identify the tax in nature.

Explanation of Solution

The average tax rate can be calculated by using formula as follows:

$\text{Average tax rate}=\frac{\text{Taxrate}\left(\text{Total income}-\text{Non- taxable income}\right)}{\text{Total income}}\times 100$        (1)

Substitute the respective values in Equation (1) to calculate the average tax rate for the total income $35,000 as shown below:

$\begin{array}{c}\text{Average tax rate}=\frac{0.20\left(35,000-35,000\right)}{35,000}\times 100\\ =0\end{array}$

Thus, the average tax rate for the total income $35,000 is 0.

Table-1 shows the values of the average tax rate for different income groups obtained by using Equation (1).

Table-1

Total income	Average tax rate
$50,000	6.0%
$65,000	9.2%
$80,000	11.3%
$100,000	13.0%
$125,000	14.4%

From table-1, it is clear that the tax is progressive in nature. There is no tax for the first $35,000. When the income rises, the tax rate also rises.

Figure-1 represents the graphical representation of the average tax rate of these different income levels.

In figure-1, the horizontal axis shows the income levels and the vertical axis shows the average tax rate. When the income rises the average tax rate also rises. Therefore the tax is progressive in nature.

Economics Concept Introduction

Progressive tax: The progressive tax refers to the higher income people paying a higher tax amount than the lower income people.