Ray's New Higher Arithmetic · Arts. 285–290 · Unit 16: Percentage: Applications without Time (continued)
76. United States revenue and customs duties
Goal: Your student explains ad valorem and specific duties and solves the four cases of customs problems; then reviews the whole chapter with the book's outline.
You'll need
- The book
- A slate, small whiteboard or scrap paper
- A notebook and pencil
What's in the book
Section VIII, United States Revenue: internal revenue, customs, ad valorem and specific duties, invoice, tariff, tare; then four cases of duties with examples (answers printed), and a topical outline of the whole chapter on the following page.
The lesson, step by step
Warm-up
Ask: If a shop brings cloth from France, should the government charge something at the port? Why might it?
The idea
Read:
The Customs or Duties are taxes imposed by Government on imported goods.
Ad Valorem Duties are levied at a certain per cent on the cost of the goods as shown by the invoice.
Specific Duties are certain sums collected on each gallon, bushel, yard, ton, or pound, whatever may be the cost of the article.
A Tariff is a schedule of the rates of duties, as fixed by law.
Old customs words
Read:
Tare is an allowance for the weight of whatever contains the goods.
The ton, for custom-house purposes, consists of 20 cwt., of 112 lb. each.
SayThat is the old "long ton" of 2240 pounds, not our 2000-pound ton.
Work the book's examples
Case I: invoice price × rate = duty.
Import 24 trunks, at $5.65 each, and 3 doz. leather satchels, at $2.25 each; the rate is 35% ad valorem: what is the duty?
$135.60 + $81 = $216.60; × .35 = $75.81.
What is the duty on 45 casks of wine, of 36 gal. each, invoiced at $1.25 a gal., at 40 ct. a gal. specific duty?
1620 gal. × $.40 = $648. The price does not matter for a specific duty.
Cases II to IV
Case II: duty ÷ invoice price = rate. Case III: duty ÷ rate = invoice price. Case IV: whole cost ÷ (1 + rate) = invoice price. Try together:
If goods invoiced at $3684.50 pay a duty of $1473.80, what is the rate of duty?
Independent practice
Your student works some examples from each case and checks the printed answers.
Chapter review
Turn to the topical outline that ends the chapter. Point to each heading (profit and loss through United States revenue) and have your student say in a sentence what it is about and name the base in it.
Afterwards
Split over two days if needed: Cases I and II, then III, IV and the review.