| Abstract from DBPedia | A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or national), and tax compliance refers to policy actions and individual behaviour aimed at ensuring that taxpayers are paying the right amount of tax at the right time and securing the correct tax allowances and tax reliefs. The first known taxation took place in Ancient Egypt around 3000–2800 BC. A failure to pay in a timely manner (non-compliance), along with evasion of or resistance to taxation, is punishable by law. Taxes consist of direct or indirect taxes and may be paid in money or as its labor equivalent. Most countries have a tax system in place, in order to pay for public, common societal, or agreed national needs and for the functions of government. Some levy a flat percentage rate of taxation on personal annual income, but most scale taxes are progressive based on brackets of annual income amounts. Most countries charge a tax on an individual's income as well as on corporate income. Countries or subunits often also impose wealth taxes, inheritance taxes, estate taxes, gift taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, use taxes, payroll taxes, duties and/or tariffs. In economic terms, taxation transfers wealth from households or businesses to the government. This has effects on economic growth and economic welfare that can be both increased (known as fiscal multiplier) or decreased (known as excess burden of taxation). Consequently, taxation is a highly debated topic by some, although taxation is deemed necessary by general consensus in order for society to function and grow in an orderly and equitable manner, others such as libertarians and anarcho-capitalists denounce taxation broadly or in its entirety, classifying it as theft or extortion through coercion and the use of force.租税（そぜい、（英: tax）とは、国や地方公共団体が公共財や公共サービスを提供するにあたって、法令の定めに基づいて国民や企業等の主体に負担を強制する金銭である。一部の国で国防に係る徴兵制などが見られるが、現代は物納や労働ではなく必要経費等の捻出方法としてお金（通貨）による納税方法が多く採用されており、日本では税金（ぜいきん）と呼ばれている。 税制（ぜいせい）（租税制度）は、歳入（財政）の根幹および政治や経済（経世済民）の要因となる。商売や契約・取引などの行為および所得や有形無形の財産などに対して税を賦課することを課税（かぜい）、課税された税を納めることを納税（のうぜい）、徴収することを徴税（ちょうぜい）、それらについての事務を税務（ぜいむ）という。政府の財政状況において租税徴収額を減額することを減税（げんぜい）、逆に増額することを増税（ぞうぜい）という。 日本の租税については、日本の租税の項を参照 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Tax) |
