Inheritance and Inequality! (Conversation Club)

This week the ‘Thinking in English’ Community is talking about inheritance and inequality.

Money makes the world go round and when you’ve spent your life building your personal wealth, it seems reasonable that you can leave it all to your loved ones.

But giving some people a leg up in life because of their parents’ success might seem unfair. So what to do with all this amassed wealth? Tax it or leave it?

Here are 10 conversation questions to get you talking about inheritance and inequality.

The Thinking in English Conversation Club takes place every TUESDAY and THURSDAY at 12pm, 6pm, and 9pm UK time!

You can find more details on how to participate on Patreon and Discord!

Conversation Questions: Inheritance and Inequality!

1. Does your country have an inheritance tax? How does it work?

2. Is inheritance tax the best way to reduce inequality?

3. Compared to other countries, does your country have high or low taxes?

4. What advantages come from having a wealthy family?

5. If you were extremely wealthy, would you move to a country with no inheritance tax?

6. Would you prefer 0%, 100%, or a progressive inheritance tax system?

7. If we all pay income tax, is inheritance tax a form of double taxation?

8. Does your country have a problem with inequality because of inheritance?

9. Do tax rates matter, if the wealthiest people find ways to not pay them at all?

10. “All taxation is theft.”

What do you think of this quote?

Vocabulary List:

• Inheritance 
  • money or objects that someone gives you when they die
• Inequality
  • the unfair situation in society when some people have more opportunities, money, etc. than other people
• Progressive tax
  • A progressive tax system is one in which the rate of tax is higher on larger amounts of money
• Income tax
  • a tax that you have to pay on the money you receive from work, usually higher for people with larger incomes
• Rates
  • an amount or level of payment
• Theft
  • (the act of) dishonestly taking something that belongs to someone else and keeping it

Model Answers:

B1 (Intermediate) Model Answers

Vocabulary:

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B2 (Upper Intermediate) Model Answers

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C1 (Advanced Level) Model Answers

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See you all at this week’s conversation club!

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