Question

"There has been a high incidence of traffic accident related deaths last year." Hence, the chairman of the CBDT suggested that excise taxes on cars and automobiles should not be reduced as planned by the government.
Which of the above statements weakens the argument above?

• A. Although there was a high incidence of traffic accident related deaths last year, it was not significantly higher than the previous years.
• B. Compulsory insurance covered most physical damage to automobiles and property.
• C. A Government of India report has shown that the demand for automobiles was highly inelastic.
• D. It was found in a study that an inadequate road network accounted for $30\%$ of the accidents last year.
• E. Higher prices would definitely deter lawyers.

Answer 1

The correct option is C A Government of India report has shown that the demand for automobiles was highly inelastic.

The argument by the chairman rest on his belief that; more the number of automobiles on the roads, more will be the rate of accidents. So he proposes that tax cuts not be made so that, fewer will the number of cars on the road. An answer weakening this argument will rest on a statement that, even tax cuts does not change the number of cars being purchased per year. This is given in option(c)