Some people think that, by paying taxes, they have made a big enough contribution to society. Others think people have more responsibilities as members of society than only paying taxes. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Written by Clement

A s an unshakable responsibility of individuals towards society, bearing tax liability has long been a well-accepted practice throughout the world. Some people think that paying taxes alone is enough to fulfill their obligations as social members, while others feel that much more should be done. 

Admittedly, taxation is a requisition of people’s earnings and provides necessary funds for a country to perform many of its functions, such as military defense and law enforcement. However, all social members will eventually benefit from this taxation in return, rather than simply making contributions. The taxes paid to the state are partially used to build and maintain educational facilities and transportation network, or provide people a safeguard against problems such as unemployment, injuries, diseases, disabilities and so forth. In this sense, taxation sustains many benefits constituting the welfare system of a country.

In order to enjoy more benefits from the society, people have more responsibilities than just paying taxes. For example, city dwellers can contribute environmentally to their cities by cutting their daily use of non-recyclable items, such as disposable lunch boxes and shopping plastic bags. As a result, the amount of non-biodegradable waste is expected to be reduced to the minimum, which will help create a more livable environment. Another good case in point is that many citizens are actively engaged in the crime prevention in their own neighborhood. They stay alert to criminal acts, report crime and come forward as witnesses whenever required, thus making it much easier for the police to bring criminals to justice and enhancing social security.

My view is that, since both society and taxpayers are beneficiaries of taxation, paying taxes should be regarded as a give-and-take reciprocation between two sides, rather than a big contribution only from individuals. Also, as social members, people are expected to do more for the society so that they would be given back more. (312 words)

考題類型：辯論類； 難度指數(shù)：三星半

關(guān)于“納稅”的考題早在2006年就出現(xiàn)過，但當(dāng)時(shí)的題目?jī)H限于討論“公民是否應(yīng)該交稅”。然而本考題討論的卻是 “除了納稅外，公民還有沒有更多的社會(huì)責(zé)任”。如果同意題干中的前者觀點(diǎn)，可能稍顯絕對(duì)，難以立論。但后者觀點(diǎn)中的“更多責(zé)任”又太抽象，可能一時(shí)難以具體化。本次重心轉(zhuǎn)移，相比以前有一定的新穎度，但也大大增加了難度。來看本篇范文的簡(jiǎn)短分析：

開頭段第一句話仍然是個(gè)雷打不動(dòng)的背景句，緊接著第二句分別闡述了雙方觀點(diǎn)，作者的觀點(diǎn)并未在本段表明。

主體第一段其實(shí)是個(gè)讓步段， 首先指出“征稅是對(duì)個(gè)人收入的獲取，并且為提供必要的資金收入”，本句顯然是承認(rèn)“納稅的確是個(gè)人對(duì)社會(huì)的貢獻(xiàn)”。反駁的號(hào)角隨之唱響，作者指出稅收其實(shí)是取之于民，又用之于民的，納稅人都會(huì)從中受益，不是單純偉大地做貢獻(xiàn)。主體第二段分別從環(huán)境和犯罪兩個(gè)方面總結(jié)了公民對(duì)社會(huì)的其他責(zé)任，指出改善環(huán)境和提高社會(huì)安全也是公民對(duì)社會(huì)的責(zé)任和貢獻(xiàn)，顯然，這才是作者傾向的觀點(diǎn)。

結(jié)尾段第一句話明確提出，稅收其實(shí)是公民和社會(huì)之間一種互利的交換，而不單純是人們對(duì)社會(huì)的貢獻(xiàn)。最后一句話說只有人們做的越多，他們才有望于從社會(huì)中獲得越多，再次點(diǎn)題。