Politics In American Local Government, Part I
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A difficult quiz about finance and budget it local government.
- 1.True or false? Most states require their municipalities to operate within a balanced budget.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 2.What is the oldest tax levied in the United States?
- A.
Property Tax
- B.
Sales Tax
- C.
Social Security Tax
- D.
Internet Sales Tax
- 3.Approximately what percentage of the average American city's revenues comes from taxes? (property, sales, income, etc)
- A.
5%
- B.
45%
- C.
95%
- D.
120%
- 4.Which one of these is NOT a major source of revenue for cities?
- A.
Property taxes
- B.
Charges and user fees for services
- C.
Grants from state governments
- D.
Lottery revenue
- 5.Which of the following is NOT a major criticism of property taxes as a source of revenue?
- A.
It is difficult to evaluate and assess property values
- B.
The tax discourages property improvements and maintenance
- C.
The tax is slightly regressive because the poor spend a larger share of income on housing
- D.
Revenue from property taxes cannot be used toward education
- 6.True or false? Citizens tend to prefer sales taxes over property taxes because they are more equitable.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 7.There are 3,500 local jurisdictions in the United States that levy a local income tax. 75% of them are located in which state?
- A.
Michigan
- B.
Pennsylvania
- C.
Texas
- D.
Hawaii
- 8.There are many advantages to imposing local income taxes instead of property taxes. Which one is NOT an advantage?
- A.
It is less regressive
- B.
It responds well to changing economic conditions
- C.
Collecting the tax is cheaper and more efficient
- D.
It attracts more businesses to the city
- 9.There are some cities, like Oakland, CA, that are hostile environments for collecting taxes, Which of the following is a strategy that has been proven to be successful for raising revenues in these environments?
- A.
Concentrate the tax on one thing like property taxes
- B.
Spread the tax base by using many small taxes instead of a few large ones
- C.
Focus the taxes on the citizens that will pay them and ignore those who won't
- D.
Pick the largest employer in the city and tax the crap out of them
- 10.Which expenditure accounts for the highest percentage of municipal spending?
- A.
Public safety
- B.
Transportation
- C.
Interest on debt
- D.
Parks and recreation
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