Some colleges charge all students the same fee for a weekly dining services meal plan. Suppose that students differ by how much food they consume each week. For example, members of the women's swimming team consume, on average, twice as much food as the average female college student, and the average male college student consumes 20 percent more food than the average female college student. The

dining services fee is most like a(n)
a. excise tax that conforms to the benefits principle.
b. excise tax that violates the benefits principle.
c. lump-sum tax that conforms to the benefits principle.
d. lump-sum tax that violates the benefits principle.

d