What is tax?

Tax as a word now is used the money that is collected by t5he governmentof a state in order to have enough fund to smoothly run the affairs of thestate. Taxation is compulsory levies imposed on the citizens of a country areup to the age of paying tax. The laws that govern rates, procedure andqualifying items for taxation are called the “the tax laws” or Finance Act forthose are living in UK.

We have both the direct and the indirect tax. Direct taxes are thosetaxes that are directly charged to taxable income of taxable persons whileindirect tax are those taxes that are levied on middle men that will eventuallybe borne by the end user of a particular taxable product. A good example is theVat (value added tax).A value added tax is the compulsory levy imposed on theextra value added to a product by the manufacturer which will ultimately beborne by the consumer of the product.

Government use monetary or fiscal tools to control money supply in acountry and taxation which is the process fashioning out efficient ways ofadministering tax happens to be one of the fiscal tools that the government canuse to control things like inflation and unemployment in a country.

Taxation

Objectives of taxation.Tax is a compulsory levy onindividuals and companies by the state to meet the expenses of the government.Taxation is imposition of compulsory levies on persons or otherentities by governments. Taxes are levied in almost every country of the world,primarily to raise revenue (moneythat a business or organization receives over a period of time, especially fromselling goods or services) for government expenditures. One useful way to view the purposeof taxation is todistinguish between objectives of resourcesallocation, income redistribution, and economic stability. Economic growthor development and international competitiveness(the ability of a company or a product to compete with others) aresometimes listed as separate goods. In the absence of a strong reason forinterference, such as the next to reducepollution, the resourceallocation objective is furthered if tax policy doesnot interfere with market – determined allocations. The redistributiveobjective is to lessen inequalitiesin the distribution of income and wealth tothe extent they are considered excessiveand unjust. The stabilization objective is the maintenance of high employment and price stability.

Insurance

Insurance,the insurer and theinsured. To insuremeans to buy insurance to protect yourselfagainst something had happening to you, your family or your possessions. The insurer is a person or company thatprovides insurance. The insured isthe person or people who are insured. Insuranceis a contract in writing betweenan insurance company and the insured, whereby the insurance company will paythe insured a stated sum of money on the happening of a stated event. Frequently the words insurance and‘assurance’ are used in the sameway. In return for a specified amount inthe event that the insured suffers lossthrough theoccurrence of acontingent event covered by theinsurance contract (insurance policy). By poolingthe financial contributions of alarge number of policyholders, the insurer is usually able to absorb losses incurred over any givenperiod much more easily than would uninsured individual. While the destruction of an automobile in a traffic accident imposes a heavyfinancial loss on an individual, for example, one such loss is of relativelysmall consequence to an insurer who is collecting sufficient premiums ( insurance premiums is the money thatyou pay regularly to an insurance company) on a large number ofautomobiles.

Definition

A fee charged (levied) by a government on a product, income or activity. If tax is levied directly onpersonal or corporate income, then it is a direct tax. If tax is levied on theprice of a good or service, then it is called an indirect tax. The purpose oftaxation is to finance government expenditure. One of the most important use oftaxes is to finance public goods and services, such as street lighting andstreet cleaning. Since public goods and services do not allow a non – payer tobe excluded, or allow exclusion by a consumer, there cannot be a market in thegood or service, and so they need to be provided by the government or a quasi –government agency, which tend to finance themselves largely through taxes.

Process by which a taxation authority tries to assure that all taxableproperty under its jurisdictions assessed for property taxes at the samepercentage of its market value. This percentage is called equalization rate.

An appraisal term used to describe assessed values that have the samerelationship to market value, implying an equalization of the tax burden.

A title insurance policy that protects the interest in a collateralproperty of a mortgage lender who originates a new real estate loan.

The “Taxes in Europe – Tax reforms “database (TEDB )is the EuropeanCommission’s on – line information tool covering the main taxes in force in theEurope Member States. The system contains information on around 600 taxes, asprovided to the European Commission by the national authorities.

The new “Tax reforms” database (TAXREF) is entailed by the update of theTEDB. It collects information on tax reforms in the member states in astructured way. It covers reforms in eight important tax categories: Vat,PIT,CIT, Social Security contributions paid by employees, Social Securitycontributions paid by employers and the three EU harmonized Excise duties onAlcoholic beverages, Energy products and Tobacco products. TAXREF is an innovativetool to analyses trends in taxation in the member states in a timely way. Itrevenue generated how European tax systems are evolving over time.

Access to the databases is free for all users. The information can befound quickly and easily using the search tool.

What typeof information is available?

The “Taxes in Europe” database contains for each individual tax,information on its legal basis, assessment base, main exemptions,applicable rate(s), economic andstatistical classification, as well as the revenue generated by it.

Theinformation is listed in the form of a downloaded file.

The “Taxes in Europe” database is not meant toconstitute a reference for legal purposes.