Comparison essay on tax systems in Great Britain, The United States of America and Lithuania

„Government does not tax to get the money it needs; government always finds a need for the money it gets.“ That’s what once said Ronald Reagan about taxes and what it is collected for. Of course, it was a joke, but I may bet there are lots of people, who would agree with that thought. Sometimes they even feel that they are caught in the behemothian jaws of government. In general, tax is money that one has to pay to tthe government so that it can pay for public services.

Great Britain, The United States of America and Lithuania have the similar taxes. And the most known of them, in my opinion, are income tax, state social insurance contributions and VAT (value added tax). Income tax is the amount of money, which is paid by everyone earning a certain income, starting with just a few hundred dollars (pounds, litas) per year. In Lithuania like in other two countries, income tax sshould be paid not only by the native residents, but also by people and organizations that work in the country. In Lithuania, the tax rate is 15 per cent on income from distributed profit, interest, seamen income, income from sporting, aartistic activities, royalties, income from rent or sale or any other form of transfer of property, pensions paid out of Lithuanian pension funds, life insurance payments and 33 per cent for other items, not listed above. That means, that most of Lithuanian working people pays about one third of their salaries to the government. In the USA the income tax rate this year is 29.1 per cent. It means that they give almost 4 per cent less than Lithuanians do. They even calculated that by paying income tax they work from January 1 until April 17 for government. The situation is different in the Great Britain. If a person is single and has no dependants, he may earn up to ££4,615 in the tax year (6 April 2003 to 5 April 2004) before any income tax is deducted. If he earns more than that, he would pay income tax of 10% on the first £1,500 of his earnings. Above £1,500, the rate rises initially to 22%. Second main tax is State social insurance contributions. These are money, paid for government programs designed to provide for the basic economic security and welfare of individuals and their dependents. In Lithuania the rate oof state social insurance contributions is 1 per cent of the money that person earns. It is administrated by social instances (Sodra). In the United States the rate is the same as in Lithuania. These numbers form a great contrast with the Great Britain. There every person aged over 16 years old is given a National Insurance number. The Inland Revenue deducts National insurance contributions on earnings over £89 a week. Third main tax that I would like to talk about is Value Added Tax. The subject to VAT is the supply of goods and services by a taxable person in the performance of his/its economic activities within the territory of the country that are affected for consideration. The standard rate of VAT in Lithuania is 18 per cent. In addition, the reduced rates of VAT of 5 and 9 per cent are applied. The reduced VAT rate of 5 per cent is applied to passenger transportation services, books, newspapers and periodicals, pharmaceuticals and certain medical products and some other goods. The 9 per cent VAT rate is applicable to supplies of services relating to construction, renovation and insulation of residential houses which are financed with state and municipal budget rresources as well as with soft credits granted by the state and resources of state special funds. In the Great Britain VAT is very alike in Lithuania – 17.5 per cent. The reduced VAT of 5 per cent is also applied in the UK for domestic fuel and power. Some items like children’s clothes and food are not charged with value added tax. The figures are not very different in the United States of America. There VAT is 14 per cent. And there is one difference between systems of taxation in the USA and other two countries. In the USA VAT is paid only by the final instance, from which goods goes to the consumers. For example, it means that only shop is expected to pay VAT, not the manufacturer and retailer. In Europe all the institutions have to pay it (manufacturer, retailer and the shop).

In Lithuania a tax period is a calendar month. During the month’s period people are allowed to ask for VAT return for the tax period. That they should do no later than by the 25th of the subsequent month. But it is not obligatory. If person haven’t filled the form, he only wouldn’t be able tto get the money back. In comparison with the United States it is not a big deal. In the States forms of Income Taxes should be sent by midnight, or the last local postal pick-up on April 15th. It is the law that every taxpayer must complete and submit a tax return to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). In the USA, estimated taxes are withheld from a taxpayer’s pay check. Tax returns provide documentation and proof that a taxpayer has paid the correct amount of ...