OG 10 question

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OG 10 question

by abhi332 » Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:37 am
Spending on research and development by United States businesses for 1984 showed an increase of about
8 percent over the 1983 level. This increase actually continued a downward trend evident since 1981 - when
outlays for research and development increased 16.4 percent over 1980 spending. Clearly, the 25 percent tax
credit enacted by Congress in 1981, which was intended to promote spending on research and development,
did little or nothing to stimulate such spending.

The conclusion of the argument above cannot be true unless which of the following is true?

(A) Business spending on research and development is usually directly proportional to business profits.
(B) Business spending for research and development in 1985 could not increase by more than 8.3%.
(C) Had the 1981 tax credit been set higher than 25%, business spending for research and development after
1981 would have increased more than it did.
(D) In the absence of the 25% tax credit, business spending for research and development after 1981 would not
have been substantially lower than it was.
(E) Tax credits market for specific investments are rarely effective in inducing businesses to make those
investments.
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Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by kstv » Wed Mar 17, 2010 7:07 am
The conclusion is quite dismissive of the effects of credit enacted by Congress so D.
If it said they were not sufficient then C could be considered. Option E is too general.
No info about co-relation of profit and research so A cannot be an option.
Can't find the figure of 8.3% mentioned in B

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by Phirozz » Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:02 am
abhi332 wrote:Spending on research and development by United States businesses for 1984 showed an increase of about
8 percent over the 1983 level. This increase actually continued a downward trend evident since 1981 - when
outlays for research and development increased 16.4 percent over 1980 spending. Clearly, the 25 percent tax
credit enacted by Congress in 1981, which was intended to promote spending on research and development,
did little or nothing to stimulate such spending.

The conclusion of the argument above cannot be true unless which of the following is true?

(A) Business spending on research and development is usually directly proportional to business profits.
(B) Business spending for research and development in 1985 could not increase by more than 8.3%.
(C) Had the 1981 tax credit been set higher than 25%, business spending for research and development after
1981 would have increased more than it did.
(D) In the absence of the 25% tax credit, business spending for research and development after 1981 would not
have been substantially lower than it was.
(E) Tax credits market for specific investments are rarely effective in inducing businesses to make those
investments.
Its clearly D

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by abhi332 » Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:02 am
I am still confuse between C and D

OA is D
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by reply2spg » Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:14 am
I am narrowed down to C and D. I was looking for something that will strenghthen or weaken my conclusion by discussing the effect of 25% tax increase. If you see closely then C talks about the hypothetical situation, which is wrong. Therefore, IMO D
abhi332 wrote:I am still confuse between C and D

OA is D

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by Giorgio » Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:20 am
Great question!