Chapter 1, Problem 16P

Using information from this chapter as well as information from the tax agency in your state (likely called the Department of Revenue) and your local government, find all of the taxes to which a sole proprietor is subject. Create a table that lists all of these taxes, the rate(s), and the level(s) of government that imposes each tax.

The file TaxData contains information from federal tax returns filed in 2007 for all counties in the United States (3,142 counties in total). Create a PivotTable in Excel to answer the questions below. The PivotTable should have State Abbreviation as Row Labels. The Values in the PivotTable should be the sum of adjusted gross income for each state. a. Sort the PivotTable data to display the states with the smallest sum of adjusted gross income on top and the largest on the bottom. Which state had the smallest sum of adjusted gross income? What is the total adjusted gross income for federal tax returns filed in this state with the smallest total adjusted gross income? (Hint: To sort data in a PivotTable in Excel, right-click any cell in the PivotTable that contains the data you want to sort, and select Sort.) b. Add the County Name to the Row Labels in the PivotTable. Sort the County Names by Sum of Adjusted Gross Income with the lowest values on the top and the highest values on the bottom. Filter the Row Labels so that only the state of Texas is displayed. Which county had the smallest sum of adjusted gross income in the state of Texas? Which county had the largest sum of adjusted gross income in the state of Texas? c. Click on Sum of Adjusted Gross Income in the Values area of the PivotTable in Excel. Click Value Field Settings. Click the tab for Show Values As. In the Show values as box, choose % of Parent Row Total. Click OK. This displays the adjusted gross income reported by each county as a percentage of the total state adjusted gross income. Which county has the highest percentage adjusted gross income in the state of Texas? What is this percentage? d. Remove the filter on the Row Labels to display data for all states. What percentage of total adjusted gross income in the United States was provided by the state of New York?

Based on the discussion in the chapter, evaluate how well each of these taxes meets Adam Smiths four requirements: a. Income tax b. Employment taxes