英语翻译
The basic structure of the federal income tax is simple.The taxpayer adds up all his taxable sources of income,subtracts certain allowable deductions and exemptions for himself,his wife,children,and other dcpendents,and then applies the tax rates to the difference.But this procedure has many pitfalls for the taxpayer,and difficult questions of tax policy arise at almost every stage.Consequently,it is important to understand the main features of the income tax structure.
Adjusted Gross Income and Taxable Income
The two major concepts of income that appear on the tax return are:adjusted gross income and taxable income.
Adjusted gross income is the closest approach in tax law to what all economist might call “total income.” But it departs from an economic definition of income in some important respects.It represents the total income from all taxable sources,less certain expenses incurred in earning that income.In general,only money income is treated as taxable,but many items are excluded.Such exclusions include one-half of realized capital gains on assets held six months or more,interest on state and local government bonds,all transfer payments(for example,social security benefits and unemployment compensation),fringe benefits received by employees from their employers(the most important of these are contributions to pension plans),and income on savings through life insurance.The emphasis on money income automatically excludes unrealized capital gains and such imputed income as the rental value of owner-occupied homes.
Adjusted gross income is used on the tax return in two ways.First,it is the income concept built into the simplified tax table,which is used for determining tax on more than 25 million returns.Second,it provedes the basis for placing limits on some of the personal deductions which are subrtacted in computing taxable income.
Taxable income is computed by making two sets of deductions from adjusted gross income.The rirst are personal expenditures which are allowed as deductions by law—charitable contributions,interest paid,state-local income,general sales,property and gasoline taxes,medical and dental expenses above 3 percent of adjusted gross income,and casualty and theft losses above $100 for each loss.In lieu of these deductions,the taxpayer may use the standard deduction of 10 percent of adjusted gross income(with a minimum of $200 plus $100 for each exemption,and a maximum of $1000 for single persons and married persons filing joint returns and $500 for married couples filing separate