Lisa and Collin Are Married

question 114

Essay

Lisa and Collin are married. Lisa works as an engineer and earns a salary of $116,000. Collin works at a beauty salon and reported wages of $45,000. Lisa received $500 of interest from corporate bonds and $250 of interest from a municipal bond. Lisa acquired these bonds prior to her marriage to Collin. Collin's father passed away on April 14. He inherited cash of $50,000 and his baseball card collection, valued at $2,000. As beneficiary of his father's life insurance policy, Collin also received $150,000. The couple spent a weekend in Atlantic City in November and came home with gambling winnings of $1,200. Collin was injured in an accident at the salon. He was unable to work for a month, but during this time he received $5,000 from disability insurance he purchased several years ago. Collin also received $2,000 in workers' compensation, and $1,500 from the salon for the emotional trauma he suffered from the accident. Calculate Lisa and Collin's gross income for this year, assuming they will file marriedfiling jointly.

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Definitions:

Progressive

Describes a tax system where the tax rate increases as the taxable base amount increases, typically aimed at reducing income inequality.

Proportional

Having a constant relation in degree or number between two or more variables.

Regressive

Describing taxes or policies that take a larger percentage from low-income earners than from high-income earners.

Progressive Structure

A tax system where the tax rate increases as the taxable base amount increases, often applied to income tax.