“美国的事就是做生意。”1925年总统卡尔文·库利吉如是说。当美国全国商业界仔细研读五月七日由参议院金融委员会通过的全面税制改革方案的小字体印刷的细节规定附件时,他们可能感到纳闷,库利吉所指的到底是哪个国家。这个被委员会主席──俄勒冈共和党党员鲍勃·派克伍德重新修改过的新方案一眼看上去似乎是将税务负担从个人转移到工商企业的头上。但是该议案非常微妙,大有讲究,让人不胜意外,它使美国变成了一个会计之国:上星期几百万人伏身于袖珍计算器,算算自己是赚、是亏、还是正好持平。
1 “The business of America is business, “ declared President Calvin Coolidge in 1925. As the nation'mercial classes examine the fine print of the sweeping tax-reform bill passed May 7 by the Senate Finanmittee, they may wonder what country Coolidge was talking about. The bill remolded by Oregon Republican Bob Packwood, mittee's chairman, appears at first glance to be a major shift in tax burdens away from individuals and onto the shoulders of business. Yet the proposal is so subtle, so elegant, so freighted with surprises that it is turning America into a nation of accountants: millions of people sat hunched over their pocket calculators last week trying to figure out whether they would win, lose or break even.
为了筹集足够的钱,平均减免6.3%的个人联邦税,委员会的这个议案要向公司额外征收一千亿美元税金。该计划会减少或取消公司很多很重要的优惠,包括公司购买经营设备的投资税款扣除,以及计算所得税时可全部扣除的业务招待费。另外,很多关于个人税法的修改提案,例如对个人退休金账户的控制,都将改变消费者花钱和攒钱的方式,影响到全体美国人。
2 To raise enough money to give individuals an average % federal tax break, mittee's bill would levy an extra$100 billion on corporations. The plan would reduce or abolish many cherished business preferences, including the investment tax credit panies that buy business equipment and the full deductibility of corporate entertainment. In addition, many of the proposed changes in individual tax law, for example, the curbing of individual retirement accounts, will affect corporate America by changing the way consumers spend and save.
好几种产业,包括房地产开发商和餐馆老板已开始愤怒地抗议。他们声称派克伍德的计划单把他们挑出来承担多于他们应承担的税收份额。但大部分的公司经理似乎赞成委员会的这项提案。他们认为这是一个较为公正的计划。此外,从长远的观点来看,它有助于提高美国经济效率和经济增长。例如,议案对“推迟纳税”在
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