Income Tax Levied Directly on Earners

Steps:

• Examine the table: tax rates apply to personal income levels (30,000 at 20%, 40,000 at 30%, 50,000 at 40%).
• Determine the tax base: it's imposed on income earned by individuals.
• Classify by levy method: collected directly from the taxpayer's earnings, not via third parties.
• Match to definitions: fits direct tax as it's on income, not consumption or goods.

Why B is correct:

• Direct taxes, per economic definition, are imposed on income or wealth and paid directly by the taxpayer to the government, like this income tax.

Why the others are wrong:

• A: Indirect taxes are on goods/services (e.g., sales tax), passed to consumers, not directly on income.
• C: Proportional taxes apply a flat rate to all income levels, unlike these varying rates.
• D: Regressive taxes burden lower incomes more (higher effective rate), but here rates rise with income.

Final answer: B