From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtaxtax1 /tæks/ ●●● S1 W1 noun [countable, uncountable]PET an amount of money that you must pay to the government according to your income, property, goods etc and that is used to pay for public servicestax on a tax on fuel He already pays 40% tax on his income.before/after tax profits before tax of £85.9m → capital gains tax, → corporation tax at corporation(1), council tax, income tax, sales tax, stealth tax, VAT, PAYECOLLOCATIONSverbspay taxMany people feel they are paying too much tax.raise/increase taxes (also put up taxes British English)He claimed the Labour Party would put up taxes.lower/cut/reduce taxesThere’s no point promising to cut taxes if you can’t afford it.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + taxhighHigher taxes will slow down consumer spending.lowRepublican voters say they want lower taxes and sensible spending cuts.income tax (=tax paid on money that you earn)The rich should pay more income tax.sales tax (=a tax on things you buy)We have to pay 15% sales tax on everything we buy.inheritance tax (=tax paid on money, property etc that you receive from someone when they die)Inheritance tax applies to the total value of the deceased’s assets.a direct tax (=a tax on income)The government’s revenue comes mainly from direct taxes.an indirect tax (=a tax on things you buy)The effect of indirect taxes is to raise the prices of goods.a flat (rate) tax (=a tax that is the same for different people or things)Corporate taxes are to be abolished and replaced by a flat rate tax.tax + NOUNthe tax rate/the rate of taxThe government reduced the basic rate of tax to 25p in the pound.tax cutsHe believes that big tax cuts will encourage economic growth.tax increasesHe accused the president of planning the biggest tax increases in US history. tax incentives (=lower taxes that encourage people to do something)We have introduced new tax incentives for savings.a tax allowance (=an amount you can earn without paying tax on it)Cutting personal tax allowances penalizes the poor. the tax burden (=the amount of tax paid)The total tax burden has risen only slightly. THESAURUStax money that you must pay to the government, especially from the money you earn, or as an additional payment when you buy somethingHow much income tax do you pay each month?The Republicans promised to reduce taxes before the last election.Consumers are angry that the tax on petrol has gone up yet again.duty a tax you pay on something you buyThe budget also sharply raised the duty on alcohol and tobacco.customs duty (=tax you pay on goods you buy and bring into the country)tariff a tax on goods coming into a country or going out of a country, especially to protect a country’s industry from cheap goods from other countriesthe import tariffs on hi-tech equipmentThe government’s tariff and trade policies came under fierce attack.levy an extra amount of money that you have to pay the government, usually as a tax, often in order to encourage people not to use or do somethingA new levy on fuel inefficient vehicles has been proposed.surcharge an amount of money that you have to pay in addition to the agreed or stated price of somethingBritish Airways will increase its fuel surcharge on all airline tickets from June 3. When you get cash at some machines, you have to pay an ATM surcharge.
Examples from the Corpus
tax• I made over $600 a week, which was around $450 after tax.• He pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and tax evasion.• Clinton is already banking on the savings to make possible a $ 98 billion tax cut over five years.• proposals for an increase in taxes to pay for medical care• Employers' social security contributions were reduced by 4.3 percent from Jan. 1,1993, and income tax allowances were reduced.• The Chancellor said he would cut income tax by 2 pence in the pound.• He failed to report and pay income tax on a portion of his income.• Big business has further reduced its contributions by ingenious tax avoidance strategies.• He will advise you on the inheritance tax your estate might incur and ways in which this may be reduced.• How could the federal government make up the revenue drain that would result to avoid raising other taxes or increasing the deficit?• The city will have to raise taxes to pay for the roads.• The Republicans promised to reduce taxes before the last election.• Weber said tax reform could have been a good issue for the Republicans this year.• Sales tax in the state is 8%.• Although the tax on cigarettes has doubled in the past two years, sales are still going up.• Consumers are angry that the tax on petrol has gone up yet again.• The package will also cut the securities trading tax to 0. 21 percent from 0. 30 percent.before/after tax• Profits edged up £59,000 to £2.12m before tax.• McClellan was paid a $ 250,000 purse but netted only $ 62,920. 75 before taxes.• Wimpey's loss before tax compared with a deficit of £16.1 million in 1991.• The cost of debt is 5. 3 percent after tax.• Prudential Corporation reported that first half profit before tax rose by 46% to £249m.• Smiths Industries reported that profit before tax fell by 7% to £102.2m in the year to 1 August.• Profit before tax at Bass rose by 16.5% to £501m in the year to 30 September 1992.taxtax2 ●○○ verb [transitive] 1 PETto charge a tax on somethingtax something at 10%/a higher rate etc They may be taxed at a higher rate.tax somebody on something The individual is taxed on the amount of dividend received. Cigarettes are heavily taxed in Britain.2 British EnglishTTPET to pay the sum of money charged each year for using a vehicle on British roads → car tax, road tax3 USE somethingto make someone have to work hard or make an efforttax somebody’s patience/strength etc The kids are really taxing my patience today. It shouldn’t tax your brain too much. → taxing → tax somebody with something→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
tax• Company profits are currently taxed at 34%.• The rich are supposed to be taxed at a higher rate than the poor.• Forbes, who is calling for a 17 percent flat rate, would not tax dividends, interest or capital gains.• Parts of the economy need more spending in order to sustain profits, but all need to be taxed less.• There were alarming reports that retired persons on fixed incomes were on the brink of being taxed out of their homes.• No, it didn't tax your brains at all.heavily taxed• Piedmont, the most economically advanced part of the state, was also the most heavily taxed.• Under the Green crackdown, petrol-guzzling big cars would also be more heavily taxed.• The three most heavily taxed commodities are alcohol, tobacco, and the oil being extracted from the North Sea.• Gasoline is heavily taxed in Europe.• The Passport Office has been heavily taxed with a backlog of requests from the recent government closings.From Longman Business Dictionarytaxtax1 /tæks/ noun [countable, uncountable]TAX an amount of money that you must pay to the government according to your income, property, goods etc, that is used to pay for public servicesThe President said he would cut taxes for middle-income America.a government plan to raise taxes in order to reduce the budget deficittax ona tax on sales of cigarettesConsumer spending declined 0.3% in October, and after-tax income rose 0.2%. → see also separate entry for income taxTax is money that you have to pay to the government, especially from money you earn or as an additional payment when you buy something. Duty is a tax that you pay on something you buy, especially goods you have bought in another country. A tariff is a tax on goods coming into a country or going out of a country. Excise is a government tax that is charged on certain goods that are sold in the country, for example alcoholic drinks and petrol. In the UK, taxes are collected by the government department HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), informally known as the taxman, and by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the US. Public finance is the management of money collected through taxes by a local or national government. Fiscal describes things connected with government taxes, debts, and spending fiscal deficit. A taxpayer is a person or organization that pays taxes. The tax rate is the part of your income or the part of the price of something that you pay in tax People who earn $180,000 to $280,000 will see their tax rates drop to 31% from 33% this year. If you pay too much tax, you may get a tax rebate (=an amount of money that is paid back to you). When someone uses illegal ways to pay less tax, this crime is called tax evasion, but the use of legal methods to reduce a tax bill is called tax avoidance. → ad valorem tax → capital gains tax → capital tax → consumption tax → corporation tax → council tax → death tax → deferred tax → degressive tax → direct tax → discriminatory tax → estate tax → excise tax → expenditure tax → federal tax → flat tax → gift tax → goods and services tax → graduated tax → head tax → hypothecated tax → indirect tax → inheritance tax → input tax → local tax → luxury tax → multiple sales tax → output tax → payroll tax → poll tax → progressive tax → property tax → proportional tax → purchase tax → real estate tax → redistributive tax → regressive tax → road tax → sales tax → sin tax → Social Security tax → specific tax → stamp tax → state tax → transaction tax → turnover tax → unitary tax → value-added tax → wealth tax → windfall tax → withholding tax → see also earnings before interest and tax, supertax, surtaxtaxtax2 verb [transitive]TAX1to make a person or organization pay taxTraditionally, state authorities have taxed the rich far more lightly than the federal government.get/be taxed onShareholders get taxed on the dividends they receive.2tax a car/motorcycle British English to pay the sum of money charged each year for using a vehicle on British roads→ See Verb tableOrigin tax2 (1200-1300) Old French taxer “to make a judgment about, tax”, from Latin taxare “to feel, make a judgment about, blame”, from tangere; → TANGIBLE 