Nick and Jessica Are Married Taxpayers That File Married Filing

question 102

Essay

Nick and Jessica are married taxpayers that file married filing separately. Jessica earns $250,000 of taxable income per year. Nick earns $130,000 of taxable income per year. Using the appropriate U.S. tax rate schedule for year 2016, how much tax does each of them pay? What are their marginal and average tax rates? How much tax would they save, if any, if they filed jointly? (Round the tax rates to 2 decimal places, e.g., .12345 as 12.35%)

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Definitions:

Short-Run Aggregate Supply

The total production of goods and services in an economy at different price levels in a short time frame, assuming that some production costs remain fixed.

Spending Multiplier

The ratio of a change in national income to a change in government spending that causes it, indicating the impact of fiscal policy on the economy.

Long Run

A period of time in economics where all factors of production and costs are variable, and all market adjustments have been made.

Futures Contracts

Standardized legal agreements to buy or sell something at a predetermined future date and price, typically used for commodities or financial instruments.