- Tax
- Tax Tax, n. [F. taxe, fr. taxer to tax, L. taxare to touch,
sharply, to feel, handle, to censure, value, estimate, fr.
tangere, tactum, to touch. See {Tangent}, and cf. {Task},
{Taste}.]
1. A charge, especially a pecuniary burden which is imposed
by authority. Specifically:
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(a) A charge or burden laid upon persons or property for
the support of a government.
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A farmer of taxes is, of all creditors, proverbially the most rapacious. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster] (b) Especially, the sum laid upon specific things, as upon polls, lands, houses, income, etc.; as, a land tax; a window tax; a tax on carriages, and the like.
Note: Taxes are annual or perpetual, direct or indirect, etc. [1913 Webster] (c) A sum imposed or levied upon the members of a society to defray its expenses. [1913 Webster]
2. A task exacted from one who is under control; a contribution or service, the rendering of which is imposed upon a subject. [1913 Webster]
3. A disagreeable or burdensome duty or charge; as, a heavy tax on time or health. [1913 Webster]
4. Charge; censure. [Obs.] --Clarendon. [1913 Webster]
5. A lesson to be learned; a task. [Obs.] --Johnson. [1913 Webster]
{Tax cart}, a spring cart subject to a low tax. [Eng.] [1913 Webster]
Syn: Impost; tribute; contribution; duty; toll; rate; assessment; exaction; custom; demand. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.