Learning experience 2: How does tax relate to the concept of economic decision making?

Cartoon

Show the students the Deciding about tax cartoon. Introduce the idea that taxation policy differs across time and countries. This strongly relates to the concept of economic decision-making (the focus of the Level 5 achievement objective for this resource).

Creating a quiz

This activity can be for individuals or small groups, or can be completed as a whole class.

Have the students visit this website Taxation - 1840 to the 1880s to find the answers to the following:

• Who decided people should pay tax
• When taxes were first charged
• How much tax people were charged
• How taxes were paid
• What taxes paid for
• Changes to tax rates - who
• Changes to tax spending – who

Ask them to create a quiz about the impacts of tax on young people in New Zealand’s history, take the quiz home, and find out how much people in their family know.

Tax policy in other countries

Ask the students to choose a country other than New Zealand and use the weblinks provided, or others of their own choosing, to find out the following information:

• Tax rates around the world
• Business Pundit

1. Country.
2. Population.
3. System of government.
4. The types and rates of taxes people pay, if any.
5. What the government pays/doesn’t pay for – refer to the list of things NZ government pays.

Share the findings as a class. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the tax policies (economic decisions) in different countries. In particular, consider how these policies may impact on young people.

Visiting speaker

Invite a speaker from the local council to tell students how rates are set, gathered and spent. You might like to consider the relationship between central and local government spending. Using the Level 5 achievement objective for this resource as a focus, have the students to make up questions for the visitor about the impact of economic decision-making.

Creative problem solving

Following the visit, ask the students to identify an issue for young people in the community and suggest solutions for it. Keep the students mindful of where the money would come from to pay for their solutions, and how they would be prioritised against other spending.

Using the Decidatrix process: Top Tools for Social Sciences Teachers p90-91Cubitt, Irvine & Dow 2000,

Ask the students to:

1. Identify the issue or problem that is to be the focus of the decision-making.
2. Brainstorm all features of the issue or problem and attempt to identify the underlying issue(s) or problem(s).
3. Focusing on one of these, brainstorm possible solutions/actions.
4. Consider all the factors that need to be taken into account in selecting the best option, and identify the criteria that will help you decide on this.
5. At the top of each column of the decision-making table write in each of the criteria.
6. Place each of the possible actions/solutions against each of the criteria.
7. Add up the score for each solution.
8. The best solution could be the one with the lowest score (that is, on most criteria it will have scored high on the list); however you may want to weight the criteria

Go to Learning experience 3 – What's fair?

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