/ tæks; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
[ C , U ] tax (on sth) money that you have to pay to the government so that it can pay for public services. People pay tax according to their income and businesses pay tax according to their profits. Tax is also often paid on goods and services :
to raise / cut taxes
tax increases / cuts
changes in tax rates
to pay over £1 000 in tax
profits before / after tax
a tax on cigarettes
—see also corporation tax , council tax , inheritance tax , poll tax , road tax , sales tax , stealth tax , value added tax , withholding tax
■ verb [ vn ]
1.
to put a tax on sb/sth; to make sb pay tax :
Any interest payments are taxed as part of your income.
His declared aim was to tax the rich.
2.
( BrE ) to pay tax on a vehicle so that you may use it on the roads :
The car is taxed until July.
3.
to need a great amount of physical or mental effort :
The questions did not tax me.
The problem is currently taxing the brains of the nation's experts (= making them think very hard) .
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PHRASAL VERBS
- tax sb with sth
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SYNONYMS
tax
duty ♦ customs ♦ tariff ♦ levy ♦ excise
These are all words for money that you have to pay to the government.
tax
money that you have to pay to the government so that it can pay for public services:
income tax
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tax cuts
duty
a tax that you pay on things that you buy, especially those that you bring into a country:
The company has to pay customs duties on all imports.
customs
tax that is paid when goods are brought in from other countries
tariff
a tax that is paid on goods coming into or going out of a country:
A general tariff was imposed on foreign imports.
levy
an extra amount of money that has to be paid, especially as a tax to the government:
a levy on oil imports
excise
a tax that is paid on some goods made, sold or used within a country:
There has been a sharp increase in vehicle excise.
duty, customs, tariff, levy or excise?
These are all words for taxes on goods. Excise is for goods sold within a country. Customs is for goods brought into a country. Tariffs are on goods going into or coming out of a country, often in order to protect industry from cheap imports. Duty is more general and can be a customs or excise tax. Levy is the most general of all and can be any sort of tax or charge.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
(a) tax / duty / tariff / levy / excise on sth
to pay an amount of money in tax / duty / customs / tariffs / levies / excise
to pay (a) tax / duty / customs / tariff / levy / excise
to collect taxes / duties
to increase / raise / reduce (a) tax / duty / customs / tariff / levy / excise
to impose (a) tax / duty / tariff / levy
to cut taxes / duties
to put (a) tax / duty / tariff on sth
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (also in the sense estimate or determine the amount of a penalty or damages ): from Old French taxer , from Latin taxare to censure, charge, compute, perhaps from Greek tassein fix.