PrepTest 147

[lcid:3686] Prep Test 147 LSAT — Reading Comp — S3 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 22-27  . Passage A  .       In 1994, Estonia became the first country to  . introduce a "flat tax" on Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Social Sciences

Passage A
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A new trend that questions a traditional thought is established
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • New trend - Flat tax, Estonia to 8 other countries
    • Old belief - Flat taxes work only in theory, but that seems wrong
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • New objections now that flat taxes exist
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • New objection - A flat tax isn't progressive
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • The Author shows that the new objection is wrong
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Author - A flat tax can be progressive through two variables - threshold and tax rate above threshold
    • Most countries - Incentive to cheat on taxes, and complex code lets it happen
    • Outcome - Rich people pay about the same under a flat tax
Passage B
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A tax system is described
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Common wrong belief - Graduated taxes cause people to pay higher rates on whole earnings
    • Real system - Everyone treated the same, as the higher tax rate is just on income above a threshold
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • Two distinctions are drawn to make a point
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Dollars aren't all equal - poor people spend most of their income on surviving; middle class people have some flexibility
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • A separate tax system is criticized
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Flat tax - Tries to account for this by exempting some income to let the working poor survive
    • Problem - Going from one extreme (no tax) to another (highest flat rate). Poor pay less, rich pay less - to make the same, the middle class is going to have to pay more
Main Point:
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

Key Lines:

Passage A:
Lines 5-8 - A common belief is called into question
Lines 9-11 - A new objection is raised
Line 17 - The Author disagrees with the objection
Lines 26-28 - The Author wraps up the disagreement with the objection

Passage B:
Lines 35-36 - A clarification is made
Lines 40-41 - The Author highlights an important difference that's explored in this paragraph
Lines 53-59 - A goal is established and criticism of an approach to reaching that goal is stated

Meta-Structure - Relationship Between Passages:
The two passages have very different views on flat taxes. Passage A notes that they can be progressive, and that under existing systems, the high-income earners pay "about as much tax" as they would under other systems. Passage B, on the other hand, believes that high-income earners will pay less, and the middle class will have to make up the difference. So they largely disagree on that topic.

Last Thoughts:
The passages here were a little technical with their discussion of tax rates and thresholds, so let's be sure not to get too bogged down in anything approaching math. In general, if an answer requires us to dig into numbers, we should defer on it as it's unlikely to be correct.

Question prompt

Which one of the Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: D

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Social Science

Answer choices

  1. A
    that exempting a threshold Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 17-19; Lines 48-50) Passage A does argue that an exempted threshold amount allows a flat tax to be progressive. However, Passage B also discusses a threshold amount ("primary layer") and how it addresses fairness for the lower class who spend most of their money on survival, so this answer is wrong.
  2. B
    that flat tax proposals Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 8) Tempting answer! This does show up in Passage A and isn't mentioned in Passage B. However, the Author of Passage A argues that flat taxes are practical in the real world, not that they aren't, so this answer doesn't address the question stem.
  3. C
    that higher taxes on Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. Neither passage discusses the impact of higher taxes on investment or growth.
  4. D
    that a flat tax Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Must Be True

    Strategy Overview:
    Head straight to the answer choices and analyze them based on our notes and understanding of each passage

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    First, we want to clarify something about this question stem. It would be easy to think that this question is about the main point raised by each passage, but it isn't. In asking about a "conclusion," the question could be dealing with a smaller point raised in Passage A that has support while not necessarily being the main point of the passage.

    Since that's the case, we should spend our time working through the answers instead of anticipating something based on the overall point of each passage. We can do a quick review of what each passage's main point was in order to ground our work, but we shouldn't expect that to lead us directly to the correct answer.

    With that noted, let's head to the answers and find one that lines up with Passage A while being absent from Passage B.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 21-25) Passage A argues that the current tax system and its complexity provide incentive and opportunity for the rich to avoid taxes to argue that a flat tax system would be different. That's an argument that a flat tax system wouldn't have these same features, so Passage A does argue for this answer. Passage B, on the other hand, doesn't talk about avoiding taxes at all. This answer is therefore correct.

    Key Takeaway:
    Conclusions argued for in a passage could be sub-points that don't necessarily reflect the main point of the argument. Stay flexible when the question isn't asking for the main point!
  5. E
    that a progressive tax Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 17; Lines 26-29; Lines 30-31; Lines 53-59) Passage A argues that a flat tax is a progressive tax, and the only group it talks about is the high earners who pay about the same in taxes, not higher amounts, so this answer is out of scope of her argument. Passage B contrasts flat taxes and progressive taxes and says that the former is unfair to the middle class, who end up paying more. So this answer addresses the second half of the question stem, but not the first.

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