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  3. The past five years have been a bad time to be a taxpayer in Europe. Across the continent, governments have relied heavily on ta

The past five years have been a bad time to be a taxpayer in Europe. Across the continent, governments have relied heavily on ta

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问题     The past five years have been a bad time to be a taxpayer in Europe. Across the continent, governments have relied heavily on tax rises to cut budget deficits, increasing the total burden by almost 5% of GDP in France and Greece. But rather than raise taxes any further, many countries are starting to cut them. The European Commission reckons that the euro zone’s tax-to-GDP ratio stabilised in 2013 and is now falling.
    In January France announced plans to cut payroll taxes by 30 billion. This month Italy unveiled income-tax cuts worth 10 billion for those earning less than 25,000 a year. This week Britain proposed tax cuts for most people on low or medium incomes. Ireland and Spain are also planning tax cuts later this year.
    Lower taxes may be popular, but how are such giveaways being financed? Few countries have the scope to borrow much more. The commission has criticised France and Spain for repeatedly missing their deficit-reduction targets, though it is not taking action against them. Italy’s high level of public debt, which hit 133% of GDP in 2013, has also landed it on the commission’s fiscal "watch list".
    Instead, most countries plan to pay for their tax proposals with public-spending cuts. Italy says it will reduce spending by an extra 7 billion this year and save a further 2. 2 billion thanks to lower yields on its debt—though these figures may prove optimistic.
    The politicians hope that lower taxes will boost growth. As euro-zone countries cannot devalue or lower their own interest rates, tax cuts are one of the few ways of trimming business costs fast, says Guillaume Menuet at Citigroup. France and Italy both hope to improve their competitiveness by reducing the tax "wedge" between employers’ costs and what workers actually take home. In 2012 this tax take reached nearly 50% of the payroll bill in France and Italy, against an OECD average of just 36%.
    Some economists doubt that cutting income tax, Italy’s approach, is the best way forward. Instead, they favour slashing Europe’s high employer-paid social security charges, as France proposes to do. This would directly lower labour costs, encouraging companies to hire extra workers as well as to increase their investment. That would also give a welcome boost to growth.
According to the last paragraph, some economists______.
选项 A、prefer Italy’s approach to France’s
B、favour slashing employers’ salaries
C、agree to reduce the costs of employees
D、reckon that cutting tax is the only way
答案C
解析 根据题干定位到最后一段前两句：Some economists doubt that cutting income tax，Italy’s approach，is the best way forward．Instead，they favour slashing Europe’s high employer—paid social security charges，as France proposes to do．选项[A]prefer Italy’s approach toFrance与they favour…as France proposes to do相悖，这些经济学家赞同法国的提议，而非意大利。故选项[A]是错误的。选项[B]favour slashing employers’salaries“赞同减少雇主工资”与原文they favour slashing…employer—paid social security“他们赞同减少雇主支付的社会保险”不符，故错误。选项[C]agree to reduce the costs of employees“赞同降低员工成本”与they favour slashing…social security．This would directly lower labour costs一句相符，故正确。选项[D]对应首句Some economists doubt that cutting income tax．．．“对于减少收入税这些经济学家持怀疑态度”，而非“认为减税是唯一手段”，故[D]项错误。综上，该题答案为[C]。
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