Answer:
To answer the Question I will re-write each statement and provide the correct identification of each as either a positive statement or normative statement:
1. Taxes are too high : Positive Statement
2. In some circumstances, if taxes are lowered, government revenues actually increase : Normative Statement
3. It is immoral for a government to redistribute money from one person to another: Positive Statement
4. When the government increases taxes, rates of tax evasion increase : Normative Statement
Explanation:
A Positive statement is one that describes a certain current situation without providing an opinion or judgement, and does not necessarily have to be a true statement, but an objective statement. ex: Cats have the ability to always land on their feet.
A Normative statement is one that provides a judgement or opinion regarding a situation. The statement is not objective but gives a certain standpoint or preference regarding the situation. It projects towards something that ought to happen. ex: When cats land on their feet, they become better hunters.
The first statement is positive because it describes the situation that taxes are high without indicating any opinion or judgement
The second statement is normative because it provides an if/then scenario whereby a judgement is made regarding the taxes. If they are lowered then it is assumed that government revenues will increase.
The third statement is positive because it is also a simply a statement of a fact that something is regarded as immoral. So as not to confuse this with a normative statement which gives a certain judgement, the third statement does not indicate a preference or projection of something that could or ought to happen.
The fourth statement is normative because it also gives an indication of what can happen if something else triggers it, and is not a statement of what the current situation is. When the taxes increase they will cause the rates of tax evasion to increase. For it to become a positive statement it would have to describe the situation as it is at the present time, without making a prediction.
