▶ Your Answer :
The reading passage contends that advantages
of raising taxes on tobacco can be explained by three theories. On the other hand,
the lecture brings up several points that contradict this argument.
First, the speaker argues that young people
will buy tobacco through black markets. To be specific, if the taxes goes up,
rate of smuggling also goes up and dealers from black markets does not check ID
cards which result in making it easier for teenagers to get hand on illegal tobacco.
This casts doubt on the reading passage’s claim that by raising taxes on tobacco,
young people would not be able to smoke since they have less money.
Second, according to the lecturer, raising
tax on tobacco would not benefit environment and cannot provide government with
more tax revenue. The reason is that if the price of cigarettes goes up, less
people would buy them, which results in less text revenue overall for government
to spend. This refutes the reading passage’s assertion that tax revenue can be
used to repair damages environment caused by cultivating tobacco.
The final point made by the lecture is that
higher taxes on tobacco will not help reduce poverty. The reason is that
tobacco industry has created lots of job fields such as agriculture, manufacturing,
and retailing. If tax goes up, since less people will spend tobacco, these jobs
are likely to get disappeared which makes situation worse. This counters the
reading passage’s argument that tax revenue can be used to reduce poverty and support
social welfare. |