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1-Consumption tax |
A tax levied on
sales of goods or services. Consumption taxes
include general sales taxes, excise taxes,
value-added taxes, and tariffs. |
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2-Corporation
income tax |
A tax on the
profits, or net income (total income minus costs),
of corporations. |
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3-Direct tax |
A tax whose
burden falls directly on the person or thing taxed
and cannot be shifted to another person or thing. A
poll tax is an example of a direct tax. |
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4-Estate tax |
A tax on the
property (including real, personal, and intangible
property) left by a person at death. |
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5-Excise tax |
A selective sales
tax, imposed only on the sale of specific goods. |
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6-Gift tax |
A tax on the
value of gifts received by an individual in excess
of a certain sum per year and over a certain
cumulative amount over a person's lifetime. |
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7-Horizontal equity |
The principle
that people in equal positions or situations should
pay the same amount of tax. |
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8-Indirect tax |
A tax imposed on
one person or thing but whose burden is borne
indirectly by another. A sales tax, though imposed
on and collected from the seller, is an indirect tax
on the buyer. |
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9-Individual income
tax |
A tax on the
income of individuals or families, generally applied
to wages, salaries, tips, interest, and dividends.
Also called personal income tax. |
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10-Inheritance tax |
A tax on the
income (including property) received by an heir from
the estate of a person who has died. Bequests to
charitable organizations are not taxed. |
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11-Marginal tax rate |
The tax rate
applied to a particular tax bracket (a designated
range of taxable income). |
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12-Payroll tax |
A tax on wages
and salaries (income earned for work), used to
finance social insurance programs that provide
benefits to the poor, the elderly, the unemployed,
and the disabled. |
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13-Poll tax |
A tax of a
specific monetary amount imposed directly on an
individual. Also called a lump-sum tax or head tax.
In the United States, the term also refers to a tax
(now prohibited) imposed on citizens as a
requirement for voting. |
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14-Pollution tax |
A tax levied on a
company that produces air, water, or soil pollution
over a certain level established by the government. |
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15-Progressive tax |
Generally, a tax
that imposes a heavier burden on those more able to
bear the burden than on those less able to bear it.
When applied to income, which is the most important
tax base in developed countries, a progressive tax
is one that takes a greater percentage of income
from those with higher incomes than from those with
lower incomes. |
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16-Property tax |
A tax on
property, usually meaning only real property, such
as land, buildings or houses, and machinery.
Personal property, such as furniture, vehicles, or
jewelry, is largely excluded, as is intangible
property, such as money, stocks, bonds, or bank
deposits. |
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17-Proportional tax |
A tax that
imposes the same burden on people or takes the same
percentage of each person's income. |
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18-Regressive tax |
A tax that
imposes a heavier burden on those less able to bear
it. Applied to income, it is a tax that takes a
greater percentage of income from people with low
incomes than from those with high incomes. |
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19-Sales tax,
general |
A tax imposed on
the sale of a wide range of goods and services.
Although collected from sellers at the retail level,
consumers bear the cost of sales taxes. |
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20-Tariff |
A tax levied on
imported or exported goods. Also called duty or
customs duty. |
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21-Tax base |
The object on
which a tax is based or calculated, such as income
(the base of the income tax), property (the base of
the property tax), or the individual (the base of
the poll tax). |
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22-Tax incidence |
The way a tax
affects people. The statutory incidence of a tax
refers to who must legally pay the tax. The economic
incidence of a tax refers to who bears the actual
burden of a tax. |
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23-Tax rate |
The percentage of
the value of the tax base that must be paid in tax,
or the amount of tax charged in the case of a direct
poll tax. |
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24-Tax schedule |
The set of rates
applicable to different amounts of the tax base.
Under the income tax, for example, the schedule
shows the rates applicable at each level of income. |
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25-Value-added tax |
A percentage tax
on the value added to goods or services at each
stage of production and distribution. As with
general sales taxes, consumers bear the final burden
of value-added taxes. |
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26-Vertical equity |
The principle
that a tax system should distribute burden fairly
across people with different abilities to pay. |
