经济学人358:绝非易事(1)

 　　LIKE most sins, tax breaks are easier to condemn¹ than to resist. Politicians regularly decry² the inefficiency³ and complexity⁴ that tax breaks introduce to the overall tax system, while merrily adding to the pile. Bill Clinton created the child tax credit. George W. Bush slashed⁶ the rates on capital gains and dividends⁷. Barack Obama created a new “American Opportunity” credit for university expenses while showering temporary tax benefits on renewable energy companies, homebuyers and employers who hired the unemployed⁸.

　　如同对待众多罪恶一样，税收减免谴责易，抵制难。政客们常常一边大声谴责税收减免使得整个税收系统变得低效而冗杂，一边乐此不疲的引入更多减免政策。比尔克林顿创造了儿童课税津贴，乔治W.布什大幅削减了资本利得和股息的税率。巴拉克奥巴马设立一种新的为大学花费所设的“美国机会”津贴的同时，他对可再生能源公司，买房者和雇佣失业人员的公司也提供大量暂时性的税收优惠。

　　These exemptions⁹, deductions¹⁰ and credits (collectively known as “tax expenditures¹¹”) will cost America’s Treasury¹² some $1.1 trillion in forgone¹³ collections this year, reckons Donald Marron of the Tax Policy Centre (TPC), a research group. The figure climbs to $1.3 trillion when forgone payroll¹⁴ taxes and the cash outlays¹⁵ for refundable¹⁶ credits are included. At around 6% of GDP, they are up sharply from 4.6% in 1990. Eliminate tax expenditures, and a big chunk¹⁷ of the deficit¹⁸ would vanish.

　　根据一家调查组织，税收政策中心的唐纳德马兰所说，今年，这些免税，减税，补助（合计称为税收支出）将使美国财政部放弃1.1兆美元的税收。若将放弃的工资税和可退税收抵免的现金支出包括在内，这一数字将攀升至1.3兆美元。在1990年，税收支出大约占据了4.6%的国内生产总值，如今，这一比率骤升至6%。倘若消除税收支出，将减少大笔赤字。

　　Tax expenditures now look likely to play a central role in the economic debates that are raging in this year’s election. Mitt¹⁹ Romney has promised to slash⁵ personal and corporate²⁰ rates and pay for the cuts by eliminating tax expenditures. To fend²¹ off accusations²² that his plan is fiscally²³ irresponsible and a giveaway to the rich, he has promised that it would not add to the deficit or favour the rich over the poor and the middle class.

　　如今看来，税收出入似乎在今年越演越烈的总统竞选中的经济辩论里扮演了重要角色。米特罗姆尼承诺将削减个人和公司税率并通过消除税收支出来支付税收削减。有人谴责他的计划财政上并不可行，作为应对，罗姆尼承诺这一计划既不会增加赤字，也不会偏向富人，而不顾穷人和中产阶级。

　　A closer examination of tax expenditures, however, suggests that achieving those two goals will be difficult. The TPC reckons his plans would cost $500 billion-900 billion in 2015, depending on how the amounts are calculated. Although in aggregate²⁴ there are enough tax expenditures available to cover those cuts, the totals are deceptive²⁵. For one thing, Mr Romney’s lower rates would automatically reduce the value of any tax expenditures he chose to eliminate. That is because taxing previously²⁶ sheltered income yields less revenue when rates are lower. For another, Mr Romney has already ruled out touching²⁷ some tax expenditures, such as the research credit, and others are highly unlikely to be eliminated, such as the fact that disabled workers don’t pay tax on some of their social security benefit.

　　然而，进一步审视税收支出表明，达到这两个目标并不容易。税收政策中心声称，根据计算数量的方法不同，罗姆尼的计划将在2015年花费5000亿至9000亿美元。尽管税收支出总计足够支付这些削减，这些总量是具有欺骗性的。就一方面来说，罗姆尼更低的税收政策将自动减少他选择消减的税收支出的价值。这是因为先前的税收政策对收入免税，在税率更低时税收收入就更少了。再者，罗姆尼已经将一些税收支出排除在外，不太可能消减诸如研究补贴税收支出，还有比如残疾工人并不为他们享有的一些社会保障福利缴税。

1 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

2 decry   

v.危难，谴责

参考例句：

• Some people will decry this,insisting that President Obama should have tried harder to gain bipartisan support.有些人会对此表示谴责，坚持说奥巴马总统原本应该更加努力获得两党的支持。
• Now you decry him as another Hitler because he is a threat to the controlling interest of oil in the middle east.现在你却因为他对中东石油控制权益构成了威胁而谴责他为另一个希特勒。

3 inefficiency   

n.无效率，无能；无效率事例

参考例句：

• Conflict between management and workers makes for inefficiency in the workplace. 资方与工人之间的冲突使得工厂生产效率很低。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This type of inefficiency arises because workers and management are ill-equipped. 出现此种低效率是因为工人与管理层都能力不足。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

5 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

6 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

8 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

9 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

10 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。

11 expenditures   

n.花费( expenditure的名词复数 )；使用；（尤指金钱的）支出额；（精力、时间、材料等的）耗费

参考例句：

• We have overspent.We'll have to let up our expenditures next month. 我们已经超支了，下个月一定得节约开支。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pension includes an allowance of fifty pounds for traffic expenditures. 年金中包括50镑交通费补贴。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

13 forgone   

v.没有也行，放弃( forgo的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Tax expenditures are the revenues forgone due to preferential tax treatment. 税收支出是由于税收优惠待遇而放弃的收入。 来自互联网
• The alternative forgone is called the opportunity cost. 这种选择性的放弃就叫做机会成本。 来自互联网

14 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

15 outlays   

v.支出，费用( outlay的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They report substantial slashes in this year's defense outlays. 他们报道今年度国防经费的大量削减。 来自辞典例句
• For MU, there were no upfront risks or cash outlays. 对摩托罗拉大学而言，没有风险或现金费用。 来自互联网

16 Refundable   

adj.可归还的，可退还的

参考例句：

• All deposits for holiday cottages are refundable. 度假别墅的抵押金可全数退还。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Empty bottles are not refundable. 空瓶不退。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

18 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

19 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

20 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

21 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

22 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

23 fiscally   

在国库方面，财政上，在国库岁入方面

参考例句：

• Nor will fiscally stretched governments pump more money into the political equivalent of a leper colony. 财政吃紧的政府也不愿将更多的钱投入这个避之唯恐不及的政治瘟疫区。
• We are more fiscally constrained, which forces us to work smarter and more efficiently. 与F-15相比我们资金上的限制更大了，美女类小游戏，这迫使我们更为精心和有效地工作。

24 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

25 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

26 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

27 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。