什麼是税

政府向人民、團體、或商業機構徵募之款項。納税是納税人的共同義務，不以求取其他利益回報作為交換。税自古代即已存在，例如古羅馬即有着名的財產税和商業税，不過對於當時的國家歲收，關税（tariff）比國內税更重要。但是現代經濟則出現相反的趨勢，國家歲收絕大部分都是以國內税為主，並且逐步廢除關税。税有三種主要功能：支付政府的花費；維持經濟成長的穩定；減緩所得及財富分配的不公平。税也可能用於非財政的理由，例如鼓勵或不鼓勵某些活動（例如香煙消費税）。税可分為直接税與間接税，直接税指的是納税人不能轉移給他人的税；主要是以人為對象的税、且是以個體的能力為基礎來課微，依據納税人的收入或財富而徵收。直接税包括所得税、淨值税（net worth）、死亡税（包括遺產税和資產税）、贈與税等。間接税指的是可以全部或部分轉移給非法定納税人的税。間接税包括貨物税、銷售税、加值税（value-added taxes）等。税也可根據其對財富分配的效果而分類，例如對所有納税人都課以同樣相對負擔之比例税（proportional tax），另外還有累進税（progressive taxes）和累退税（regressive taxes）。

tax

Government levy on persons, groups, or businesses. Taxes are a general obligation of taxpayers and are not paid in exchange for any specific benefit. They have existed since ancient times—property taxes and sales taxes were known in Rome—but tariffs were favored over internal taxes as a source of revenue. In modern economies, there has been a trend away from tariffs in favor of internal taxes, which provide the majority of revenues. Taxes have three functions: to cover government spending, to promote stable economic growth, and to lessen inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth. They have also been used for nonfiscal reasons, such as to encourage or discourage certain activities (e.g., cigarette consumption). Taxes may be classified as direct or indirect. Direct taxes are those that the taxpayer cannot shift onto someone else; they are mainly taxes on persons and are based on an individual's ability to pay as measured by income or net wealth. Direct taxes include income taxes, taxes on net worth, death duties (i.e., inheritance and estate taxes), and gift taxes. Indirect taxes are those that can be shifted in whole or in part to someone other than the person legally responsible for payment. These include excise taxes, sales taxes, and value-added taxes. Taxes may also be classified according to the effect they have on the distribution of wealth. A proportional tax is one that imposes the same relative burden on all taxpayers, unlike progressive taxes and regressive taxes.