Why "only people can pay taxes"?

[FangFang]

Business English Lesson, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #164 "Corporate Taxation", question 9

The central problem with the corporate income tax from an economic point of view is that, ultimately, only ......... can pay taxes.

(a) entities
(b) companies
(c) people
(d) some

Business English Lesson, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #164 "Corporate Taxation", answer 9

The central problem with the corporate income tax from an economic point of view is that, ultimately, only people can pay taxes.

Correct answer: (c) people

Your answer was: incorrect
The central problem with the corporate income tax from an economic point of view is that, ultimately, only companies can pay taxes.
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Hi,

I can't understand why "only people can pay taxes"? And personally, i think it is unfair that taxes on the production and sale of commodities would eventually be shifted by producers to consumers. Though we have seen that happening around us, like gas and oil......How to understand this sentence, is it relative with Sentence Ten?

Thanks

[Mister Micawber]

.
Yes, it is indirectly related to Q #10, in that it is presumed (unfair or not) that tax costs will in one way or another be passed on to the consumer, i.e. the people.

Question #9 is not easy; but logically, only people will work as an answer, since it is certainly not true that only companies pay taxes: they are the ones who try to avoid taxes-- by passing them on to the consumer, among other methods!

Thanks for taking my test, FF.
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Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
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