© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.
1
,Solution jManual jFor
McGraw-Hill's jTaxation jof jIndividuals j2024 jEdition,
15th jEdition jSpilker
Chapter j1-14
Chapter j1
An jIntroduction jto jTax
Discussion jQuestions
(1) [LO j1] jJessica’s jfriend jZachary jonce jstated jthat jhe jcouldn’t junderstand
jwhy jsomeone jwould jtake ja jtax jcourse. jWhy jis jthis ja jrather jnaïve jview?
Taxes jare ja jpart jof jeveryday jlife jand jhave ja jfinancial jeffect jon jmany jof jthe
jmajor jpersonal jdecisions jthat jindividuals jface j(e.g., jinvestment jdecisions,
jevaluating jalternative jjob joffers, jsaving jfor jeducation jexpenses, jgift jor jestate
jplanning, jetc.).
(2) [LO j1] jWhat jare jsome jaspects jof jbusiness jthat jrequire jknowledge jof
jtaxation? jWhat jare jsome jaspects jof jpersonal jfinance jthat jrequire jknowledge
jof jtaxation?
Taxes jplay jan jimportant jrole jin jfundamental jbusiness jdecisions jsuch jas jthe
jfollowing:
What jorganizational jform jshould ja jbusiness juse?
Where jshould jthe jbusiness jlocate?
How jshould jbusiness jacquisitions jbe jstructured?
How jshould jthe jbusiness jcompensate jemployees?
What jis jthe jappropriate jmix jof jdebt jand jequity jfor jthe jbusiness?
Should jthe jbusiness jrent jor jown jits jequipment jand jproperty?
How jshould jthe jbusiness jdistribute jprofits jto jits jowners?
One jmust jconsider jall jtransaction jcosts j(including jtaxes) jto jevaluate jthe jmerits
jof ja jtransaction.
Common jpersonal jfinancial jdecisions jthat jtaxes jinfluence jinclude: jchoosing
jinvestments, jretirement jplanning, jchoosing jto jrent jor jbuy ja jhome, jevaluating
jalternative jjob joffers, jsaving jfor jeducation jexpenses, jand jdoing jgift jor jestate
jplanning.
(3) [LO j1] jDescribe jsome jways jin jwhich jtaxes jaffect jthe jpolitical jprocess jin
jthe jUnited jStates.
© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.
2
, U.S. jpresidential jcandidates joften jdistinguish jthemselves jfrom jtheir jopponents
© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.
3
, based jupon jtheir jtax jrhetoric. jLikewise, jthe jmajor jpolitical jparties jgenerally
jhave jvery jdiverse jviews jof jthe jappropriate jway jto jtax jthe jpublic. jDetermining
jwho jis jtaxed, jwhat jis jtaxed, jand jhow jmuch jis jtaxed jare jdifficult jquestions.
jVoters jmust jhave ja jbasic junderstanding jof jtaxes jto jevaluate jthe jmerits jof
jalternative jtax jproposals joffered jby jopposing jpolitical jcandidates jand jtheir
jpolitical jparties.
(4) [LO j2] jCourtney jrecently jreceived ja jspeeding jticket jon jher jway jto jthe
juniversity. jHer jfine jwas j$200. jIs jthis jconsidered ja jtax? jWhy jor jwhy jnot?
The j$200 jspeeding jticket jis jnot jconsidered ja jtax. jInstead, jit jis jconsidered ja
jfine jor jpenalty. jTaxes jdiffer jfrom jfines jand jpenalties jbecause jtaxes jare jnot
jintended jto jpunish jor jprevent jillegal jbehavior.
(5) [LO j2] jMarlon jand jLatoya jrecently jstarted jbuilding ja jhouse. jThey jhad jto jpay
$300 jto jthe jcounty jgovernment jfor ja jbuilding jpermit. jIs jthe j$300 jpayment ja
jtax? jWhy jor jwhy jnot?
The jbuilding jpermit jis jnot jconsidered ja jtax jbecause j$300 jpayment jis jdirectly
jlinked jto ja jbenefit jthat jthey jreceived j(i.e., jthe jability jto jbuild ja jhouse).
(6) [LO j2] jTo jhelp jpay jfor jthe jcity’s jnew jstadium, jthe jcity jof jBirmingham
jrecently jenacted ja j1 jpercent jsurcharge jon jhotel jrooms. jIs jthis ja jtax? jWhy
jor jwhy jnot?
The j1 jpercent jsurcharge jis ja jtax. jThe j1 jpercent jsurcharge jis jan jearmarked jtax
j– ji.e., jcollected jfor ja jspecific jpurpose. jThe jsurcharge jis jconsidered ja jtax
jbecause jthe jtax jpayments jmade jby jtaxpayers jdo jnot jdirectly jrelate jto jthe
jspecific jbenefit jreceived jby jthe jtaxpayers.
(7) [LO j2] jAs jnoted jin jExample j1-2, jtolls, jparking jmeter jfees, jand jannual
jlicensing jfees jare jnot jconsidered jtaxes. jCan jyou jidentify jother jfees jthat jare
jsimilar?
There jare jseveral jpossible janswers jto jthis jquestion. jSome jcommon jexamples
jinclude jentrance jfees jto jnational jparks, jtag jfees jpaid jto jlocal/state
jgovernment jfor jautomobiles, jboats, jetc.
(8) [LO j2] jIf jthe jgeneral jobjective jof jour jtax jsystem jis jto jraise jrevenue, jwhy jdoes
jthe jincome jtax jallow jdeductions jfor jcharitable jcontributions jand jretirement
jplan jcontributions?
In jaddition jto jthe jgeneral jobjective jof jraising jrevenue, jCongress juses jthe
jfederal jtax jsystem jto jencourage jcertain jbehavior jand jdiscourage jother
jbehavior. jThe jcharitable jcontribution jdeduction jis jintended jto jencourage
jtaxpayers jto jsupport jthe jinitiatives jof jcharitable jorganizations, jwhereas
© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.
4
1
,Solution jManual jFor
McGraw-Hill's jTaxation jof jIndividuals j2024 jEdition,
15th jEdition jSpilker
Chapter j1-14
Chapter j1
An jIntroduction jto jTax
Discussion jQuestions
(1) [LO j1] jJessica’s jfriend jZachary jonce jstated jthat jhe jcouldn’t junderstand
jwhy jsomeone jwould jtake ja jtax jcourse. jWhy jis jthis ja jrather jnaïve jview?
Taxes jare ja jpart jof jeveryday jlife jand jhave ja jfinancial jeffect jon jmany jof jthe
jmajor jpersonal jdecisions jthat jindividuals jface j(e.g., jinvestment jdecisions,
jevaluating jalternative jjob joffers, jsaving jfor jeducation jexpenses, jgift jor jestate
jplanning, jetc.).
(2) [LO j1] jWhat jare jsome jaspects jof jbusiness jthat jrequire jknowledge jof
jtaxation? jWhat jare jsome jaspects jof jpersonal jfinance jthat jrequire jknowledge
jof jtaxation?
Taxes jplay jan jimportant jrole jin jfundamental jbusiness jdecisions jsuch jas jthe
jfollowing:
What jorganizational jform jshould ja jbusiness juse?
Where jshould jthe jbusiness jlocate?
How jshould jbusiness jacquisitions jbe jstructured?
How jshould jthe jbusiness jcompensate jemployees?
What jis jthe jappropriate jmix jof jdebt jand jequity jfor jthe jbusiness?
Should jthe jbusiness jrent jor jown jits jequipment jand jproperty?
How jshould jthe jbusiness jdistribute jprofits jto jits jowners?
One jmust jconsider jall jtransaction jcosts j(including jtaxes) jto jevaluate jthe jmerits
jof ja jtransaction.
Common jpersonal jfinancial jdecisions jthat jtaxes jinfluence jinclude: jchoosing
jinvestments, jretirement jplanning, jchoosing jto jrent jor jbuy ja jhome, jevaluating
jalternative jjob joffers, jsaving jfor jeducation jexpenses, jand jdoing jgift jor jestate
jplanning.
(3) [LO j1] jDescribe jsome jways jin jwhich jtaxes jaffect jthe jpolitical jprocess jin
jthe jUnited jStates.
© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.
2
, U.S. jpresidential jcandidates joften jdistinguish jthemselves jfrom jtheir jopponents
© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.
3
, based jupon jtheir jtax jrhetoric. jLikewise, jthe jmajor jpolitical jparties jgenerally
jhave jvery jdiverse jviews jof jthe jappropriate jway jto jtax jthe jpublic. jDetermining
jwho jis jtaxed, jwhat jis jtaxed, jand jhow jmuch jis jtaxed jare jdifficult jquestions.
jVoters jmust jhave ja jbasic junderstanding jof jtaxes jto jevaluate jthe jmerits jof
jalternative jtax jproposals joffered jby jopposing jpolitical jcandidates jand jtheir
jpolitical jparties.
(4) [LO j2] jCourtney jrecently jreceived ja jspeeding jticket jon jher jway jto jthe
juniversity. jHer jfine jwas j$200. jIs jthis jconsidered ja jtax? jWhy jor jwhy jnot?
The j$200 jspeeding jticket jis jnot jconsidered ja jtax. jInstead, jit jis jconsidered ja
jfine jor jpenalty. jTaxes jdiffer jfrom jfines jand jpenalties jbecause jtaxes jare jnot
jintended jto jpunish jor jprevent jillegal jbehavior.
(5) [LO j2] jMarlon jand jLatoya jrecently jstarted jbuilding ja jhouse. jThey jhad jto jpay
$300 jto jthe jcounty jgovernment jfor ja jbuilding jpermit. jIs jthe j$300 jpayment ja
jtax? jWhy jor jwhy jnot?
The jbuilding jpermit jis jnot jconsidered ja jtax jbecause j$300 jpayment jis jdirectly
jlinked jto ja jbenefit jthat jthey jreceived j(i.e., jthe jability jto jbuild ja jhouse).
(6) [LO j2] jTo jhelp jpay jfor jthe jcity’s jnew jstadium, jthe jcity jof jBirmingham
jrecently jenacted ja j1 jpercent jsurcharge jon jhotel jrooms. jIs jthis ja jtax? jWhy
jor jwhy jnot?
The j1 jpercent jsurcharge jis ja jtax. jThe j1 jpercent jsurcharge jis jan jearmarked jtax
j– ji.e., jcollected jfor ja jspecific jpurpose. jThe jsurcharge jis jconsidered ja jtax
jbecause jthe jtax jpayments jmade jby jtaxpayers jdo jnot jdirectly jrelate jto jthe
jspecific jbenefit jreceived jby jthe jtaxpayers.
(7) [LO j2] jAs jnoted jin jExample j1-2, jtolls, jparking jmeter jfees, jand jannual
jlicensing jfees jare jnot jconsidered jtaxes. jCan jyou jidentify jother jfees jthat jare
jsimilar?
There jare jseveral jpossible janswers jto jthis jquestion. jSome jcommon jexamples
jinclude jentrance jfees jto jnational jparks, jtag jfees jpaid jto jlocal/state
jgovernment jfor jautomobiles, jboats, jetc.
(8) [LO j2] jIf jthe jgeneral jobjective jof jour jtax jsystem jis jto jraise jrevenue, jwhy jdoes
jthe jincome jtax jallow jdeductions jfor jcharitable jcontributions jand jretirement
jplan jcontributions?
In jaddition jto jthe jgeneral jobjective jof jraising jrevenue, jCongress juses jthe
jfederal jtax jsystem jto jencourage jcertain jbehavior jand jdiscourage jother
jbehavior. jThe jcharitable jcontribution jdeduction jis jintended jto jencourage
jtaxpayers jto jsupport jthe jinitiatives jof jcharitable jorganizations, jwhereas
© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.
4
