BEST IELTS Writing Task 2, 11th April

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IELTS WRITING TASK 2

Some people feel that governments should take a large proportion of people’s salaries to pay for necessary public services such as roads and schools. Others feel that high taxes are a bad thing. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

SAMPLE ANSWER

It is widely agreed that governments of all countries need a stock of money to draw on to pay for infrastructure such as roads and services such as education, defence or waste disposal. A more contentious issue is whether people should be taxed heavily to pay for these.

Many people feel that all these areas of public life are so vital that we must have high taxes to ensure that services are of the highest standard. If taxes are too low, the quality of the provision declines and eventually systems begin to break down and the only people able to manage are the wealthy. Proponents of high taxation also argue that in principle it is a good thing to make the wealthiest in society bear the biggest burden of paying for services for the good of everyone, including the poorest.

On the other hand, if too high a percentage of salaries is taken in tax, it is argued that people lose the incentive to work hard. Another drawback of high taxation is that it builds resentment and people start to look for strategies to avoid paying it.

I believe that taxation, managed sensibly, is a good way of redistributing wealth and I am in favour of the rich supporting the less well off. In the end, this equalising benefits everyone because if there is too great a gap between rich and poor, resentment develops. However, I feel hard work should be rewarded so the threshold above which people start to pay tax should be quite high.

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