Governments are trying to keep their economies alive by injecting billions of dollars across the board.

各國政府正試圖通過全面注入數十億美元來保持經濟活力。

However, they are trying to do so while receiving less money, a very difficult task,

然而，他們要做到這一點，同時又要少收錢，這是一個非常困難的任務。

especially for nations where public debt was already high before the pandemic.

特別是對於那些在大流行病之前公共債務已經很高的國家來說。

So, how do governments make money?

那麼，政府是如何賺錢的呢？

For most governments, the main source of revenue is taxes.

對於大多數政府來說，收入的主要來源是稅收。

Here in the U.K., the biggest chunk comes from taxes on people's earnings,

在英國，最大的一塊來自於人們收入的稅收。

known as Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions.

稱為所得稅和國民保險費。

If you are employed in the U.K., these come out of your paycheck

如果你在英國工作，這些錢將從你的工資中扣除。

even before it lands in your bank account, while in the United States,

甚至在它落入你的銀行賬戶之前，而在美國。

salaried workers often have to pay a retrospective tax bill based on their previous year's earnings.

受薪工人往往要根據前一年的收入補交稅款。

There are also plenty of indirect taxes levied when goods and services are sold.

還有很多在銷售商品和服務時徵收的間接稅。

When you buy a coffee, a chocolate bar or a car, well that's taxed too.

當你買咖啡、巧克力棒或汽車時，嗯，那也是要交稅的。

These consumption taxes, such as the U.K.'s VAT

這些消費稅，如英國的增值稅。

or India's Goods and Services Tax are another important source of revenue.

或印度的商品和服務稅是另一個重要的收入來源。

In fact, taxes on income and consumption amount to about two thirds of tax revenues in the U.K.

事實上，在英國，收入和消費稅約佔稅收收入的三分之二。

They are also used as a way for governments to influence people's behaviour.

它們也被政府用來作為影響人們行為的一種方式。

For example, the U.K. introduced a “sugar tax” aimed at tackling childhood obesity in 2018.

例如，英國在2018年推出了旨在解決兒童肥胖問題的 "糖稅"。

This means that consumers are discouraged from buying sugary soft drinks

這意味著，消費者不願意購買含糖軟飲料。

as these become pricier in comparison with healthier alternatives.

因為與健康的替代品相比，這些東西變得更加昂貴。

Besides being levied on other unhealthy products, such as alcohol and tobacco, duties can also

除了對其他不健康的產品，如菸酒等徵稅外，還可

be used to discourage environmentally damaging activities, such as driving petrol- or diesel-powered vehicles.

用於阻止破壞環境的活動，如駕駛汽油或機油動力的車輛；

The next chunk of government income comes from taxes on property,

政府收入的下一塊來自於財產稅。

whether on your own or on commercial spaces.

不管是自己還是商業空間上。

There are a number of other smaller duties too, when selling or inheriting real estate,

在出售或繼承房地產時，也有一些其他的小職責。

which end up boosting the government's coffers.

這最終會增加政府的財政收入。

It's a similar picture in the U.S. About half of federal revenue comes

在美國也是類似的情況，大約一半的聯邦收入來自於

from individual income taxes, while about a third of the total comes from

來自個人所得稅，而總量的三分之一左右來自於。

payroll taxes that fund social insurance programs. Companies are also taxed on their profits.

工資稅，為社會保險項目提供資金。公司也要對其利潤徵稅。

However, corporate tax in the U.S. has fallen as a proportion of government receipts since the 1950s,

然而，自20世紀50年代以來，美國的公司稅在政府收入中的比例有所下降。

reflecting how the United States has tried to encourage business activity with lower rates.

反映了美國如何試圖以較低的稅率鼓勵商業活動。

While taxation patterns are mostly similar in developed countries,

雖然發達國家的稅收模式大多相似。

low-income nations are more reliant on trade and consumption taxes due to the nature of their economies.

低收入國家由於其經濟性質，更依賴貿易和消費稅。

For example, agricultural workers rarely have fixed or regular incomes,

例如，農業工人很少有固定或定期的收入。

making it hard to calculate income taxes.

使得所得稅難以計算。

The tax collection system in low-income economies also tends to be less efficient,

低收入經濟體的稅收制度也往往效率較低。

which in turn makes generating revenue harder.

這又增加了創收的難度。

Even for an oil-rich country like Saudi Arabia, which has no income taxes,

即使是像沙特這樣的石油資源豐富的國家，也沒有所得稅。

its increased spending in 2020 forced it to triple its consumption tax to 15%.

其在2020年增加的支出迫使其將消費稅增加三倍至15%。

Traditionally, governments have tried to match their expenditure with the money

傳統上，政府一直試圖使其支出與資金相匹配。

they receive from all of these sources of income, also known as running a balanced budget.

它們從所有這些收入來源獲得的收入，也就是所謂的平衡預算。

However, they can run a deficit and borrow money from financial markets to make up the shortfall.

但是，他們可以出現赤字，向金融市場借錢來彌補不足。

But this is a delicate balancing act because interest payments can mount up, effectively increasing spending.

但這是一個微妙的平衡，因為利息支出會不斷增加，實際上增加了支出。

If lenders worry about the total level of debt getting out of control

如果貸款人擔心債務總量失控的話

and threatening the ability of a government to repay them, they charge a lot more for these loans.

並威脅到政府的還款能力，他們對這些貸款收取更多的費用。

In the eurozone, for instance, Italy's bonds offer a higher yield than Germany's, even though they share a currency,

例如，在歐元區，意大利的債券比德國的債券收益率高，儘管它們共享一種貨幣。

because lenders have more confidence in Germany's ability to repay its debt.

因為貸款人對德國的償債能力更有信心。

While central banks can just print more money in theory, either to repay these loans directly,

雖然央行在理論上可以直接印更多的錢，或者直接償還這些貸款。

or to swap for foreign currency if they borrowed in dollars,

或以美元借貸的情況下換成外幣。

adding more money to the economy risks stoking inflation and has devastated economies in the past.

向經濟注入更多的貨幣有可能引發通貨膨脹，並在過去破壞了經濟。

Although some economists have recently started to question

雖然一些經濟學家最近開始質疑

whether this is the inevitable consequence of higher spending,

這是否是提高支出的必然結果。

especially for big economies such as the U.S., it's going to take a lot of convincing

特別是對於美國這樣的大經濟體來說，這需要很多說服力。

before lawmakers feel confident running huge deficits for a long time.

立法者才有信心長期運行鉅額赤字。

However, U.S. President Joe Biden has said he supports setting aside concerns

不過，美國總統拜登表示，他支持擱置擔憂。

about the country's deficit so more money can be spent now to prop up the economy.

關於國家的赤字，所以現在可以花更多的錢來支撐經濟。

This brings us to why we are now more likely to pay even more in taxes.

這就涉及到為什麼我們現在更容易交更多的稅。

Governments have had to step up their spending in the wake of the pandemic.

在這場大流行病之後，各國政府不得不加大開支。

The health emergency halted a lot of economic activity, and governments across the world

衛生緊急事件停止了很多經濟活動，世界各地的政府

have been paying companies to keep workers on their payrolls,

一直在向公司支付工資，讓工人留在他們的工資單上。

increasing unemployment benefits and supporting health services.

增加失業福利和支持保健服務；

They have also delayed tax bills for businesses so they have a bit longer to find the cash.

他們還延後了企業的稅單，讓他們有更多的時間去尋找現金。

These measures, though necessary, are emptying the coffers of many treasury departments around the world.

這些措施雖然是必要的，但卻掏空了世界上許多財政部門的庫房。

Given how important citizens' contributions are for their income,

鑑於公民的貢獻對其收入的重要性。

governments are expected to increase taxes in the coming years to restore their finances.

預計各國政府將在未來幾年增加稅收，以恢復財政。

The U.K.'s independent watchdog for public finances said that tax rises or spending cuts

英國獨立的公共財政監督機構表示，加稅或減支。

of between $29 billion and $63 billion will be needed just to stop public debt levels

僅僅為了阻止公共債務水準，就需要290億至630億美元的資金。

from rising relative to GDP. In his latest plans for the economy,

從相對於GDP的上升。在他最新的經濟計劃中。

the U.K.'s finance minister has already announced an increase in corporate tax.

英國財長已經宣佈增加企業稅。

It's going to take this country, and the whole world,

這將需要這個國家，和整個世界。

a long time to recover from this extraordinary economic situation.

從這一特殊的經濟形勢中恢復過來需要很長的時間。

This is why we hear more leaders discussing new taxes, such as on profits made by digital giants and on pollution.

這就是為什麼我們聽到更多的領導人討論新的稅收，比如對數字巨頭的利潤和對汙染。

While we don't know when taxes will rise, and by how much, it is likely these levies will be passed on to consumers,

雖然我們不知道什麼時候會漲稅，以及漲多少，但這些徵收很可能會轉嫁到消費者身上。

which means there's a good chance we'll paying more to the government before very long.

這意味著我們很有可能在不久之後向政府支付更多的錢。

Hi everyone, thank you so much for watching.

大家好，非常感謝大家的觀看。

How do you feel about potentially paying more taxes? And what should governments be taxing?

你如何看待可能要交更多的稅？政府又應該徵收什麼稅？

Let us know in the comments section, and I'll see you soon.

請在評論區告訴我們，我們很快就會再見。