Exercise 3

Find English equivalents to the following Russian collocations

Сложность системы налогообложения в Германии возникает в результате регулярных изменений, предлагаемых со стороны влиятельных корпоративных групп; подоходный налог взимается с заработанной вами суммы; служащие платят обязательный взнос в фонд социального страхования; сумма денег, по поводу которой в Германии идут непрерывные политические споры; штатные работники должны делать отчисления на индивидуальный счет социального страхования; в настоящее время немецкие пенсии не облагаются налогом; человек свободной профессии не обязан получать полис социального страхования.

Exercise 4

Answer the following questions:

1. Why is the German tax system considered to be one of the most complex systems in the world?

2. What does the German individual taxation depend on?

3. What contentious political issue is there in Germany?

4. What categories of individuals do you know?

5. What are 6 tax classes?

6. How are regular employees liable?

7. What is the rate of health, pension, unemployment and health care insurance?

8. Are German pensions taxable?

9. What do you know about private health insurance policy?

Does it cover spouse and children?

Exercise 5

Guess the meaning of the words by their definitions

1. State provision for the welfare of the elderly, unemployed, or sick, through pensions and other financial aid.

2. A reduction in the amount of tax a person or company has to pay.

3. To make or become different; change

4. Amount of money paid by the Federal Government to the parents of dependent children.

5. To include in a list.

6. A self-employed person doing specific pieces of work for various employers.

7. To compel someone by legal, moral, or physical means.

Unit 20. Taxation in the republic of ireland Exercise 1 Practise reading the following words and collocation:

a) broadly; through; among; government; budget; Ireland; expenditure; percentage; score; employee; themselves; employer; however; charge; register; share capital; vary; create; annually; range; nature;

b) central government tax revenue; excise duties; sources of revenue; other significant contributors; the third lowest rate; health services and social welfare; total tax revenue; relatively straightforward; annual tax returns; applicable tax; share sales and inheritance; additional income; banks and savings-institutes; on behalf of the government; major source of revenue; taxable goods; purchase of a property; financial products; cheques and credit cards; automatic teller machine and laser cards; normal income and chargeable gains; manufacturing firms, enterprises and businesses;

c) to be derived from; to be spent on; to be measured by; to reduce tax evasion; to be charged on; to be exempt from; to be subject to;

Taxation in the republic of ireland

The system of taxation in the Republic of Ireland is broadly similar to that of taxation in the United Kingdom. On an individual basis most people are taxed through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, based on their ability to pay – the system is quite progressive with little or no tax on low earners and a high rate applied to top earners. For businesses, tax rates are among the lowest in the world, with many firms enjoying corporation tax rates of between 10% and 12.5%. A large amount of central government tax revenue is derived from the value added tax (VAT), excise duties and other taxes.

VAT and income tax are the largest sources of revenue for the government. Other significant contributors to the national budget in 2004 were corporation tax and excise duties. This is somewhat surprising as Ireland has the third lowest rate of corporation tax in the world with a top rate of just 12.5%.

Of the government revenue, 26% of expenditure is spent annually on the health services, 31% on social welfare and 17% on education.

The tax burden in Ireland, as measured by Forbes Misery Index, is lower than most of the world.

Another popular measure of the tax burden in a country is by working out total tax revenue as a percentage of GDP. By this measure Ireland again performs well, with a score of 31.2% in 2003. This compares to 51.4% in Sweden, 49.4% in Denmark, 42% in the United Kingdom. Currently Ireland scores 4^th best in Europe.

The tax system in Ireland for employees is relatively straightforward; they themselves do not have to file annual tax returns as their employer deducts applicable tax at source. However the system for collection of tax on additional income such as dividends, share sales and inheritance is somewhat more complicated for individuals.

Deposit Interest Retention Tax better known as DIRT is a tax charged on the interest earned on bank accounts. It was introduced in Ireland in the 1980s to reduce tax evasion on unearned income. DIRT tax is deducted at source by the banks and savings-institutes, on behalf of the government, at a rate of 20% on all interest earned.

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a major source of revenue for the Irish government. VAT registered traders collect it. All traders who sell over 51,000 euros of taxable goods or over 25,500 euros of taxable services must register for VAT. The VAT period is currently two calendar months. A VAT return is made on the 19^th day of the following month.

In Ireland stamp duty is charged on the purchase of a property (in addition to VAT), on some financial documents, on the formation of a company or increase in its share capital and on financial products such as cheques and credit cards. The rates of stamp duty vary from 0% to 9%. First time buyers (someone who has not purchased a house before) pay a reduced rate depending on the value of property; indeed they are exempt from paying any stamp duty on houses costing less than 317,500 euros.

In the early 2000’s, in order to raise more money without raising income tax rates, the government created several new taxes. Some of these taxes came in the form of new stamp duties on financial products. Today in Ireland, credit cards are subject to a 40 euros annual duty, and automatic teller machine and laser cards are subject to 10 euros each annually.

Corporation tax is charged on the profits of companies, which includes both normal income and chargeable gains. Certain expenses such as interest repayments can be offset against profits. The current rate of corporation tax in Ireland ranges from 10% to 25%, depending on the nature of the business.

The 10% rate, introduced in 1981, applies to a limited number of manufacturing firms, enterprises and businesses located in the Shannon Free Zone; all typically large multi-nationals. The next rate, 12.5%, applies to all trading income and is the normal rate for most businesses. The highest rate, 25%, applies to non-trading income such as interest gains, discounts received and rental income.