BC Education - Essentials of Mathematics 12

Essentials of Mathematics 12 - Government Finances

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will demonstrate an awareness of the income and expenditures of federal, provincial and municipal governments

It is expected that students will:

describe government expenditures including the amounts spent on social welfare benefits, social security, education, health care, policing, armed forces, and employee wages and salaries
solve problems involving the calculation of selected federal taxes (e.g., GST, excise tax and duties)
calculate provincial taxes, (e.g., PST, corporation capital, licenses, gasoline)
determine how selected municipal taxes are calculated (e.g., property)

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Every student will one day be a taxpayer and as such will encounter a wide range of payroll deductions and taxes. It is important that students understand the motivation for these and how the money collected through them is used. This knowledge will help students to become informed citizens.

Ask students to discuss in cooperative groups, the following questions:
- Why do governments impose taxes?
- Where does the money come from?
- How is tax money distributed?
- What are GST and PST and what are they used for?
- What is the purpose of custom duties and excise taxes?
  Bring the class together to discuss their answers.
Provide students with examples of real-life tax assessments, such as property tax assessments. Have students analyse how the statements are calculated.
Have students research and discuss the following questions on municipal taxes:
- Where does the tax money come from?
- How is the collected tax money used?
- What is the major source of revenue for cities?
Explain what an educational levy is and how it is used, then have students calculate municipal tax bills for a variety of real-life situations.
Provide students with examples of the local community tax bill. In a class discussion, review the layout of the form and the types of information included. Ask students to locate the following items:
- the tax rate
- the municipal mill rate
- the educational mill rate
Have students examine a summary of a federal or provincial budget presented over the last four to five years, then discuss as a class.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

Reading tax assessments and payroll deductions can be a tedious job and requires an understanding of the underlying math. To assess students’ knowledge of income and expenditures of federal, provincial and municipal taxes, note their ability to discuss these items, calculate taxes, and verify given tax statements.

Observe

As students discuss taxes, observe their ability to:
- correctly label taxes.
- identify the tax rate involved
- provide a reason for the tax
- explain what the tax is used for
Observe how completely students analyse tax statements and the extent to which they verify given calculations.

Presentation

Have students analyse real-life situations that involve a variety of tax calculations and have them present their solutions to the class.

Collect

Have students design a flow chart or pie chart showing how our tax dollars are distributed. Assess their work with respect to:
- presentation
- accuracy
- completeness

Peer Assessment

Have students calculate tax bills for realistic situations and swap their work with a peer to have it checked for accuracy.

RECOMMENDED LEARNING RESOURCES

Comprehensive learning resources for this course are currently under development. As an interim measure, schools are encouraged to use the teacher-developed learning resources distributed to schools (student and teacher resources). Please note that the student materials require photocopying for student use.

[no resources]

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