(a) What is incidence of taxes? [4 marks]
(b) Explain any four principles of taxation [16 marks]
Explanation
(a) The incidence of taxes refers to where the burden of a tax finally rests.
(b)(i) Equity: Tax should be based on a person's ability to pay and there should be equality of sacrifice i.e. the burden of tax should be according to one's ability.
(ii) Certainty: Tax payers should know the amount they are expected to pay, when and how to pay it.
(iii) Convenience: The method and time of tax collection should be convenient to the tax payers.
(iv) Economy: The amount spent in the course of collecting the tax should be smaller than the amount of tax revenue collected
(v) Flexibility: The tax system should not be rigid
(vi) Neutrality: The tax should not unduly affect people's willingness to work, save and invest.
(vii) Simplicity: The tax laws should be easy to understand