Reading comp PrepTest 147 · Section 3 · Question 22

Incorrect. (Line 8) Passage A mentions countries that have implemented a flat tax system and it brings up the old view that such a system works only in theory, so it is concerned with this question. Passage B, on the other hand, doesn't talk about implementation—rather, it just asks whether such a system would be fair to people at all income levels.

Incorrect. (Lines 12-15; Lines 33-34) Passage B explicitly states this, so it is concerned with answering that question. Passage A, on the other hand, only mentions what "it is argued" is true of progressive tax systems, and the Author never hops in to support or contradict that view, so it's not concerned with answering this question.

Correct. Question Type:
Main Point

Strategy Overview:
Review the main points we stated for both passages and find common elements

Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
Heading back to what we said for the main points of the two passages:

Passage A - Despite criticism in both the past and present, a flat tax can work in the real world and also be progressive, leading to the rich paying as much under this system as alternatives

Passage B - People don't understand graduated taxes, and also flat tax systems will inevitably result in the middle class paying more in taxes

The overlap between the two passages is the discussion of flat taxes. In Passage A, the Author argues that they can result in a progressive system where the rich pay as much as other systems. Passage B, on the other hand, argues that they'd result in the poor and rich paying less, and thus the middle class paying more.

So both are concerned about flat taxes, and whether or not the breakdown of who pays what can be fair. Let's find an answer reflecting that.

Answer Explanation:
(Lines 9-11; Line 17; Lines 26-29; Lines 56-58) Passage A brings up an opposing view that flat taxes are unfair because they're not progressive, but then rebuts it ("Not so"), so it is concerned with arguing that flat taxes are fair. Passage B argues that such taxes "naturally" lead to the middle class making up the difference, implying that they're not fair. Both passages spend time answering the question about whether flat taxes are fair, so this is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
When dealing with Comparative passages that are in conflict with each other, they must both talk about the same topic—otherwise, they couldn't have conflicting opinions. As such, questions that ask about something similar between the passages will probably focus on these shared topics. Here, both talked about flat taxes across income levels, and also on the fairness of them to different groups, and that ended up reflected in the correct answer—even if they disagreed on whether the taxes were fair to different income groups.

Incorrect. (Lines 19-21; Lines 30-35) The people in Paragraph 2 of Passage A are in favor of a progressive tax, and the Author argues that a flat tax (which she implicitly has a positive opinion of) can be a progressive tax, so there are no objections raised there. Even in Passage B, the objections to progressive/graduated taxes are based on a misunderstanding of those taxes, so they can't really be said to be objections to that type of tax itself.

Incorrect. (Lines 21-29) Passage A discusses tax avoidance, but Passage B does not.