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Difficulty: MediumApplying the Negation Technique

Policy Analyst: Every nation that has adopted a strictly digital currency system has experienced a drastic reduction in petty tax evasion. Our nation is scheduled to fully implement a strictly digital currency system within the next two years. Therefore, the implementation of this system will undoubtedly generate a substantial increase in our nation's overall tax revenues.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the policy analyst's argument?

  1. A
    Any nation that experiences a drastic reduction in petty tax evasion will inevitably see a substantial increase in its overall tax revenues.
  2. B
    Most nations that have adopted a strictly digital currency system have subsequently experienced a substantial increase in their overall tax revenues.
  3. C
    Prior to adopting a digital currency system, the other nations suffered from levels of petty tax evasion that were significantly lower than the current level in our nation.
  4. The financial gains resulting from a drastic reduction in petty tax evasion will not be entirely offset by simultaneous losses in other areas of tax collection.Answer
  5. E
    If a nation does not fully implement a strictly digital currency system, it cannot achieve a drastic reduction in petty tax evasion.

Answer

The statement ensuring that the financial gains resulting from a drastic reduction in petty tax evasion will not be entirely offset by simultaneous losses in other areas of tax collection.
The author predicts a substantial increase in OVERALL tax revenues based entirely on the expectation of reducing ONE specific form of tax evasion. For this prediction to be valid, the financial gains generated by stopping petty tax evasion cannot simply be erased by new losses elsewhere. When we apply the negation technique to the correct option—assuming the gains ARE entirely offset by other losses—overall tax revenues would not increase at all. Because this negation completely destroys the conclusion, the statement is logically necessary for the argument to survive.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the core conclusion and the premises.
Conclusion: Implementing the digital currency system will generate a substantial increase in our nation's overall tax revenues. Premises: Digital currency reduces petty tax evasion, and our nation will adopt it.
Isolating the conclusion helps identify the exact logical leap the author is making.
2
Spot the logical gap in the reasoning.
The premises guarantee a reduction in ONE specific type of lost revenue (petty evasion), but the conclusion confidently predicts an increase in OVERALL tax revenues.
Necessary assumptions often serve to bridge the gap between a narrow premise and a broad conclusion.
3
Apply the Negation Technique to test candidate choices.
Negating the correct statement yields: 'The financial gains WILL be entirely offset by simultaneous losses in other areas.' If this were true, overall tax revenues would remain flat or decrease, completely destroying the conclusion.
The defining characteristic of a necessary assumption is that its logical negation destroys the argument.

Key Concept

Applying the Negation Technique to Defender Assumptions
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Topics

Applying the Negation Technique

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