Idea 2of 23Builds onA tax pays for shared things
A tax, a fee or a price
How can you tell a tax from other money people pay?
Today you'll discover
- who must pay a tax
- what a fee is
- what a price is
Think firstThree ways to pay money in Maple Town
Which of these is a tax?
Decide first, then press Next. Ask: must everyone pay it, and what do they get?
The Maple Town drawing: families and businesses pay property tax into the town, and the revenue goes out to fire, police, roads, parks, garbage pickup and the library. Along the bottom, a separate row: you pay $12 at the door, the cinema keeps it, only ticket holders get in.
See the whole ideathe big idea and the key word, in one place
The big idea
Everyone must pay a tax; a fee or price is paid only by people who use it.
Tax, fee or priceTax: everyone pays, for shared things. Fee: users pay a government for one service, like a bus ride. Price: you pay a business for one thing.
Easy to get wrongPocket money is not a tax, and neither is a library card. Borrowing from an Ontario public library is free, because taxes already pay for it.
Key word
- fee
- money paid to use one thing, like a bus fare or a pool pass; only the people who use it pay
Ready to use it?
- Sort payments into tax or not a tax.
- Explain why a bus fare is not a tax.