Talking about Taxes

"A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well." tax - money paid to the government, which is based on your income or of the cost of goods or services you have bought capital gains tax - tax on the profits made from selling something you own  corporation tax - tax paid by businesses on their profits direct tax - the money that a person must pay to the government themselves, such as income tax, rather than through someone else indirect tax - a tax charged on goods and services rather than on money that people earn  inheritance tax - a tax paid on money or property you have received from someone who has died  road tax - annual tax on motor vehicles that use public roads  sales tax - US a tax paid by people when they buy goods or services; value-added tax  sin tax - (informal) a tax on items such as cigarettes, alcohol, gambling and other things which are considered unnecessary luxuries in life; luxury tax  tax allowance - the amount of income on which you do not have to pay tax  tax-deductible - a sum that can be taken away from the total amount of income you must pay tax on  tax disc - a small round sign which you put in the corner of the front window of your car or other vehicle to show that you have paid the tax to use it  tax evasion - ways of illegally paying less tax than you should  tax exile - a wealthy person who lives outside his or her own country in order to minimise taxes  tax haven - a place where people pay less tax than they would pay if they lived in their own country  tax relief - the system of allowing someone not to pay tax on a part of their income  tax return - a form supplied by the government body (taxation authority) for the citizens to file with them the details of their income, expense, deductions, etc thereby computing the tax liability, within a specified date of the year  tax-exempt - not subject to tax by federal, state, and/or local authorities  after-tax - an amount (usually income) after taxes have been subtracted  before-tax income - income before taxes are deducted  liable to tax - subject to tax  tax bracket - the rate at which an individual is taxed  flat tax – a system that taxes everyone at the same rate, regardless of their income bracket  progressive tax - a tax that takes a larger percentage from the income of high-income people than it does from low-income people Now we put new vocabulary into context, so you can see how you might use these terms yourself. The expressions are in boldface in the text.  What do you earn after tax?  Luxury tax is a tax placed on products or services that are deemed to be unnecessary or non-essential.  Income and property taxes are good examples of direct taxes.  Employers can deduct the total cost of the gift from their taxes, and employees don't have to declare the cost of the gift as part of their taxable income.  A third of my income will go in tax.  Tax brackets are set based on income levels; individuals with lower income levels are taxed at a lower rate than individuals with higher income levels.  Supporters of a flat tax argue that it gives people incentive to earn more, because they wouldn't be penalized by graduating to a higher tax bracket.  Most income taxes are considered progressive.