3. Understanding main points.Answer the following questions:

1. Why has the reforming of most taxes been slow and tortuous?

2. What approaches can be taken to measure the performance of emerging market countries?

3. Is Russia an exception in the general reforming process? Please expand.

4. What changes have different taxes undergone?

5. What progress has been made in the tax systems of the emerging market countries?

4. Understanding details. Find facts to support or refute the following statements:

1. The transitional countries’ tax reform was no more than an experiment.

2. One of the methods of gauging tax policy performance was to look at how the private sector reacted.

3. The current structure of tax systems in EMC largely resembles the

structure of tax systems in western countries.

4. The trend over the past several years in EMC has been toward the

consolidation of rates into a lower basic or general rate.

5. Building an effective tax administration is a difficult task anywhere.

5. Summarizing

Give an outline of the major points of the text. Write the summary of the text (200-250 words) and present it in class.

b) Complete the text using the words in the box:

Diversity of tax systems

to be compatible with; social security contributions; to levy taxes; unanimity; tax measures; to standardize; customs duties; compulsory taxes

Tax policy is a symbol of national sovereignty and part of a country's overall economic policy, helping finance public spending and redistribute income. In the European Union, responsibility for tax policy mainly lies with the Member States, who may delegate some of it from central to regional or local level, depending on the constitutional or administrative structure of government.

The European Union plays a subsidiary role on taxes and (1) … .Its aim is notto (2)… the national systems of (3) and contributions but simply

to ensure that they are (4) …not only with each other but also with the aims

of the Treaty establishing the European Community. Article 269 of the EC Treaty requires the Community budget to be wholly financed from own resources. These depend on Member States' capacity to contribute. At present these own resources consist ofagricultural levies, (5)… , a percentage of VAT revenue calculated on a harmonized basis and GNP-based resources. The European Union hasno power to create or (6) …

However, in the single market it is important to see that Member States'

(7) . do not hamper the free movement of goods, services and capital

or distort competition. Progress on the harmonization and coordination

of taxation has been fairly slow, but this is due to the complexity of the

issues involved and the fact that the relevant articles of the EC Treaty

require (8) for any change.

2. Meaning

a) Translate into Russian paying special attention to the difference in the meanings of the words and their collocations:

1. to be recognized as critical to the success of the reform, it was critical

to our work, he was critical of our work;

2. the available evidence, the information is available to anyone, Are

you available for the meeting tomorrow? Is there anyone available to

replace her?

3. to apply turnover taxes to consumer goods, to apply to one's duties

with energy, to apply to the authorities for assistance, to apply to the

university, the rule does not apply to this case, to apply theory to

practice;

4. to withhold wage and payroll taxes, a withholding tax, to withhold

information from the police, to withhold the truth;

5. to pattern a modern tax system, to pattern a system upon (after) a

old model, to pattern oneself after sb.;

6. comprehensive tax reform, a comprehensive review, a man with

comprehensive mind;

7. to comply with EU directives, to comply with the law, to comply

with sb's request;

8. to lag behind, a time lag;

9. to enforce taxes, to enforce one's argument, to enforce discipline

b)Choose the correct words to complete each sentence: