Urban planner: The mayor of Dismaston supports a new tax code that would assess local businesses on the property value of their site rather than on their income or profits; the mayor argues that this change will not contribute to any loss in tax revenue for the city. Several city council members disagree, citing similar changes to tax code that were unsuccessful in cities similar to Dismaston. The council members’ argument is without merit, though, because property values rise steadily each year, while business incomes fluctuate wildly with the national economy.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Answer Choices

Correct answer marked below

The new tax code would not apply to the significant number of online business associated with the city that have no physical presence on a piece of property in the city.

In previous years, the successes and failures of many previous Dismaston tax codes to generate income have been mirrored by similar tax codes in the the same cities similar to Dismaston in other respects.

A small number of store fronts in the downtown neighborhood are vacant: under the new code, these businesses are likely to owe higher taxes than they have paid, unless some loophole is written into the law.

The annual percentage rise in real estate values in Dismaston has been consistently more than the average annual growth rate percentages across all businesses with properties in Dismaston.

Correct

In any year, some unsuccessful businesses will close and other businesses, some quite promising, will open, but total amount of property in the city is fixed and unchanging, providing greater stability.

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What this question tests

What it tests

Whether you can identify the unstated assumption a critical-reasoning argument depends on.

Common trap

Picking an option that strengthens the argument or is merely relevant instead of one that is required.