| 释义 |
▪ I. tax, n.1|tæks|
Also 4–7 taxe, Sc. 5–7 taxt (6 taxte).
[app. f. tax v. Appears earlier than F. taxe (1405 in Godef. Compl.; rare bef. 16th c.), f. taxer vb.; also earlier than med.L. taxa in Du Cange. In ME., taxe and taske, task n., were at first almost synonymous; but in their sense-development they were differentiated, tax following that of the corresponding verb, as an assessed money payment.]
1. a. A compulsory contribution to the support of government, levied on persons, property, income, commodities, transactions, etc., now at fixed rates, mostly proportional to the amount on which the contribution is levied.
‘Tax’ is the most inclusive term for these contributions, esp. when spoken of as the matter of taxation, and in such phrases as direct tax and indirect tax (see direct a. 6 e, indirect 2 c), including also similar levies for the support of the work of such local or specific bodies as county or municipal, councils, poor law or school boards, etc. But in British practice few of the individual imposts are called by the name, the most notable being the income tax, land tax, and property tax (also dog-tax, match-tax, window-tax), the rest being mostly styled ‘duties’, as excise, import, export, estate, house, stamp, death duties, etc. The ‘taxes’ levied by local bodies are usually called ‘rates’, e.g. borough, county, poor, school, water rate, etc. In U.S. ‘tax’ is more generally applied in ordinary language to every federal, state, or local exaction of this kind: cf. the combs in 7.
† to pay double taxes (quot. 1759), i.e. to have two residences on which the assessed taxes were paid.
a1327Pol. Songs (Camden) 151 Mo then ten sithen told y my tax. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 247 Þe lerid & þe lay granted þat þei said, & assigned a day, þat taxe to be laid. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 298 Oure clergie schal paie no subsidie ne taxe. c1420Brut 382 Þere was grawnted vnto þe King, to maynetayne his warres, bothe of spiritualte & temporalte, an hole taxe and a dyme. c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 5537 Taxe geteth he noon of Perse lond. 1480Caxton Chron. England cxlix, Kyng Iohan..let arere an huge taxe thurgh oute all englond, that is to say xxxv. M. marc. 1483Cath. Angl. 378/2 A Taxe, tallagium. 1533Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scotl. VI. 129 Lettrez to Dunde, Perth [etc.] to inbring thair taxtis for furnesing of wageouris. 1535Coverdale 1 Kings ix. 15 The summe of the taxe, that kynge Salomon raysed to the buyldinge of the house of the Lorde. 1552Huloet, Taxe or subsidye graunted. 1607Cowell Interpr., Task, alias Taxe,..is such a kinde of tribute, as being certainly rated vpon euery towne, was wont to be yearely paide... Now is it not paide, but by consent giuen in Parlament, as the Subsidie is. 1651Hobbes Leviath. ii. xx. 106 Men ought to pay such taxes as are by Kings imposed. 1752Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 344 A tax on German linen encourages home manufactures. 1759Dilworth Pope 116 Pope..was able to pay double taxes, and lived like a man in a genteel independance. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. viii. 308 The land tax, in it's modern shape, has superseded all the former methods of rating either property, or persons in respect of their property. 1776Adam Smith W.N. v. ii. (heading) Part ii, Of Taxes. Ibid. (1869) II. 461 A direct tax upon the wages of labour,..though the labourer might perhaps pay it out of his hand, could not properly be said to be even advanced by him. 1801Hamilton Wks. (1886) VII. 192 There is, perhaps, no item in the catalogue of our taxes which has been more unpopular than that which is called the direct tax. 1840McCulloch in Encycl. Brit. (ed. 7) XXI. 95 A tax may be either direct or indirect. It is said to be direct when it is immediately taken from income or capital; and indirect when it is taken from them by making their owners pay for liberty to use certain articles, or to exercise certain privileges. 1846(title) The Local Taxes of the United Kingdom. 1878Jevons Prim. Pol. Econ. xvi. §97. 129 In England the taxes amount to something like ten per cent., or one pound in every ten pounds.
†b. The rate at which anything is charged.
1455Rolls of Parlt. V. 308/2 Eny Dismes or Subsidies..aftir the taxe or quantite of an hole Disme.
c. the taxes, the tax-collector. colloq.
1874W. S. Gilbert Charity 111, Nobody calls on him except the taxes. 1888Stevenson Popular Authors 11, Even the Rates and Taxes..have actually read your tales.
2. fig. Something compared to a tax in its incidence, obligation, or burdensomeness; an oppressive or burdensome charge, obligation, or duty; a burden, strain, heavy demand.
a1628F. Grevil Let. to Hon. Lady iv. Wks. 1870 IV. 267 When Nature..foresaw this distresse or taxe, like to fall vpon her freedome. 1691–8Norris Pract. Disc. (1711) III. 65 Sleep, that great Tax and Custom of Nature upon the life of man. 1713Steele Guard. No. 85 ⁋1 To suffer scandal..is the tax which every person of merit pays to the publick. 1727De Foe Eng. Tradesman xix. (ed. 2) 258 A young beginner has such a tax upon him before he begins, that he must sink perhaps..half..his stock in painting and gilding, wainscoting and glazing, before he..can open his shop. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey ii. xiv, You great men must pay a tax for your dignity. I am going to disturb you. 1862H. Spencer First Princ. i. i. §8 The greatness of the question..justifies even a heavier tax on the reader's attention.
†3. = task n. 2, 2 b. Obs. rare.
1390Gower Conf. I. 94, ‘I bidde nevere a betre taxe’ Quod sche, ‘bot ferst, er thou be sped, Thou schalt me leve such a wedd, That [etc.]’. 1559Mirr. Mag. (1563) O j, A certayne taxe assygnd they have To shyne, and tymes divyde. 1564Advertmts. in Cardwell Doc. Ann. (1839) I. 294 The archedeacon shall appoynte the curates to certaine taxes of the Newe Testamente to bee conde without booke. And at theire nexte synode to exact a rehearsall of them.
†4. The action or an act of taxing or charging a person with some offence; a charge, accusation; censure. Obs.
1611Beaum. & Fl. Knt. Burn. Pestle Induct., Flie far from hence All private taxes, immodest phrases, What e'r may but shew like vicious. 1621Venner Tobacco in Via Recta, etc. (1637) 354 They shall not passe without my tax. 1634Jackson Creed vii. xiv. §6 It was not a prophecy but a sharp reproof or tax. 1642Declar. Lords & Com. 7 Nov. 4 After many high taxes of Us and Our Government.
†5. A price-list, tariff. [So F. taxe.] Obs. rare—1.
1625D. Gordon (title) Pharmaco-Pinax, or a Table and Taxe of all the Pryces of all usuall Medicaments.
†6. Phr. to have in tax, to have laid upon one, to have in hand. to take in tax, to take to task.
1635Voy. Foxe & James to N.W. (Hakl. Soc.) 422 They being pertinent to the purpose I have in taxe. 1667Pepys Diary 16 May, Sir Edward Savage did take the said Moyer in tax about it.
7. attrib. and Comb.
a. General: attributive, as tax bill, tax bracket, tax-claim, tax consultant, tax-defaulter, tax dodge (also as v. intr.), tax fiddle (colloq.), tax-law, tax-levy, tax-master, tax-mistress, tax-money, tax-paper, tax-rate, tax-return, tax-revenue, tax-system, tax year; objective and obj. gen., as tax-assessor, tax-collector, tax-controller, tax-dodger, tax-dodging, tax-extortioner, tax-farmer, tax-farming, tax-fiddler (colloq.), tax inspector, tax-layer, tax-levying adj., tax-receiver; instrumental, etc., as tax-born, tax-bought, tax-burdened, tax-free, tax-laden adjs.b. Special combs.: tax allowance, a sum that is to be deducted from gross income in the calculation of taxable income; tax avoidance, the arrangement of financial affairs so as to reduce tax liability within the law; so tax-avoider, -avoiding ppl. a.; tax bite U.S. colloq., a deduction in the form of tax; tax-bond (U.S.), a state bond receivable as taxes (Funk's Stand. Dict. 1895); tax-book, a list of property subject to taxation, with the amount of the taxes; tax break colloq. (orig. U.S.), a tax advantage or concession allowed by government; tax-certificate (U.S.), a certificate given to a purchaser at a tax-sale by the authorized official, entitling the holder to a tax-deed at a certain date (Funk); tax code, a code number representing the tax-free part of an employee's income, assigned by tax authorities for use by employers in calculating the amount of tax to deduct under the PAYE system; tax credit, a sum that can be offset against a tax liability; spec. one that results in a payment to any person whose liability is less than this sum; tax-deductible a., allowable as a tax deduction; so tax-deductibility; tax deduction chiefly U.S., an expense that can be deducted from gross income in calculating taxable income; tax-deed (U.S.), a conveyance made and delivered by the authorized official to a purchaser of land at a tax-sale (Cent. Dict. 1891); tax disc, a circular label displayed in the window of a motor vehicle showing the date up to which motor vehicle excise duty has been paid; tax dollar U.S., a dollar paid as tax; tax-duplicate (U.S.), a duplicate record of all tax-assessments, furnished to a tax-collector (Funk); tax-eater, one who is supported from the public revenue; so tax-eating n. and a.; tax evasion orig. U.S., the reduction of tax payments by misstatement of income or other illegal means; so tax-evader, -evading vbl. n.; tax-exempt a., free from a liability to be taxed; n., a tax-exempt security; so tax exemption; tax exile, one who lives in a country chosen for its lower taxes on personal income; the state of doing this; tax haven, a country that attracts companies or individuals by its low taxes; tax holiday colloq., a period of tax exemption or tax reduction, esp. one of fixed duration; tax-lien (U.S.), the lien held by the state on property subject to taxation, which has priority over all other claims (Funk); tax-list = tax-book; tax-loss, a loss that can be offset against taxable profit earned elsewhere or in a different period; also transf. and attrib.; taxman, a tax-collector; also, an inspector of taxes or similar official; (with the) the Board of Inland Revenue, personified; tax point, the date upon which value added tax becomes chargeable in any particular transaction; tax relief = relief2 7; tax-roll = tax-book; tax-sale (U.S.), a sale of the property of a delinquent tax-payer, made in order to defray the taxes due by him (Cent. Dict.); tax shelter, an opportunity for incurring expenses so that they can be used to reduce tax liability; so tax-sheltered a., providing such an opportunity; tax threshold, the level of income at which tax begins to be payable; tax-title (U.S.), the title conveyed to the purchaser of property sold for taxes (Funk). See also tax-cart, tax-gatherer, tax-payer, etc.
[1935Times 16 Apr. 9/3 The cost of these various amendments in income-tax allowances will amount to {pstlg}10,000,000.] 1950Economist 22 Apr. 903/2 Statisticians have allowed an increase..to reflect the increase in initial *tax allowances on plant purchased from April. a1974R. Crossman Diaries (1976) II. 174 The Chancellor's only votes were gained from those who shared his male views and in particular objected to taking away money from middle-class families by tampering with their children's tax allowances.
1892Daily News 20 Feb. 6/7 Any one who has had dealings with *tax assessors will not easily be convinced that they are men to be hoodwinked in this simple way.
1927Hansard Commons 4 July 961, I think that all these devices for *tax avoidance ought to be stopped. 1951L. H. Seltzer Nature & Tax Treatment Capital Gains & Losses ii. 43 Wide openings for tax avoidance through so-called reorganization provisions were soon discovered. 1972Accountant 28 Sept. 401/2 This amendment was designed to counteract certain tax avoidance schemes.
1960Guardian 9 July 10/2 Every word of this was fascinating to all tax-payers and *tax-avoiders. 1980Listener 1 May 578/3 The *tax-avoiding English who have arrived [on the Isle of Man] since the war.
1720in Mass. House of Representatives Jrnl. (1921) II. 284 A Petition..Complaning of the Proceedings of the Court..in their Nulling Three *Tax-Bills by them made..[was] Sent up. 1850R. W. Emerson Let. 6 Mar. in R. B. Perry Thought & Char. W. James (1935) I. 68 If a good bookseller thinks that such readings in New York will pay my taxbills and bad gardening in Concord, I shall try the experiment. 1978W. White W. Whitman's Daybks. & Notebks. I. p. xii, Tax bills, water bills, subscriptions to daily papers.
1954Sun (Baltimore) 26 Jan. (B ed.) 1/4 The Iowa senator called for..legislation by Congress to put a *tax bite on foreign coffee traders operating in this country. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 22 May 2/4 The upshot of the committee's action is a proposal to enlarge the tax bite for some wealthy individuals and contract it for others.
c1630Risdon Surv. Devon §76 (1810) 78 So I find it in the *tax-book of England. 1846McCulloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) II. 211 A certificate..that this portion was entered in the public tax-books, for an amount of land-tax entitling the possessor to a vote.
1823Byron Juan xi. xli, If he found not this spawn of *tax-born riches.
1831E. Elliott Corn-Law Rhymes, Caged Rats i, But ye are fat,..And fill'd with *tax-bought wine.
1975R. Stout Family Affair (1976) xviii. 189, I am already in an uncomfortably high *tax bracket for the year and would take no jobs anyway.
1968Nation 4 Nov. 463/1 What better way to entice private enterprise than with a tax credit or some other sort of *tax break? 1969N.Y. Times 4 Sept. 6/1 Companies will not get the tax breaks they formerly got on amortization of new equipment. 1982Economist 18 Dec. 17/2 Governments should cease to shower capital with tax breaks that artificially lower capital's price.
1904Q. Rev. July 182 Plunging his *tax-burdened people into the horrors of a sanguinary and needless war.
1899Daily News 24 Nov. 4/7 Dr. Robert refused as Mayor to sign the *tax-claims.
1961M. Kelly Spoilt Kill iii. 163 Writing paper, annual notice of *tax code, medical card. 1976Star (Sheffield) 3 Dec. 6/7 We have reached a ludicrous state of taxation when a man on state aid receives enough to exceed his tax allowance but this does not prove that the social security payments are too high, but rather, that wage rates, and especially tax codes are far too low.
1833J. S. Mill in Monthly Repos. VII. 581 These taxes..throw electioneering influence into the hands of the *tax-collectors. 1862M. E. Braddon Lady Audley xxi, Does she still take me for a tax collector?
1976J. R. L. Anderson Redundancy Pay i. 10 He had..developed a shrewd ability as a *tax consultant, particularly in the property market.
1946H. M. Groves Postwar Taxation & Econ. Progress vii. 227 This could be done readily by permitting the taxpayer [with a fluctuating income] to sum his taxes over a period of years, calculate what his tax bill would have been if his income had been distributed evenly among these years, determine the difference between the two, and claim the difference as a refund or *tax credit. 1973Guardian 24 Jan. 14 The Green Paper proposes first that most tax allowances..should be replaced by tax credits... Anyone whose tax liability was less than their tax credits would be paid the difference. 1974Nature 10 May 103/3 A company can obtain ‘foreign tax credits’ (which can be offset against United States tax) in respect of taxes paid to foreign governments. 1980Daily Tel. 23 Feb. 19/2 A final of 8p a share payable on April 3, makes 14.25p net against 10.15p net or 20.36p including the related tax credit compared with 15.15p.
1972Accountant 5 Oct. 422/1 Many captives are established to take advantage of this *tax deductibility of insurance reserves.
1954,1965*Tax-deductible [see deductible a.]. 1977D. Anthony Stud Game vii. 45 Most of Grant's calls were on business, tax-deductible items.
1942F. W. Marshall Legitimate Deductions vi. 40 In enacting provision for income *tax deductions, Congress is only interested in determining what part of a company's [or person's] gross income it believes should be treated as net income for the purpose of income taxation. 1971‘O. Bleeck’ Thief who painted Sunlight (1972) xiv. 122 He can contribute fifty percent of his income each year and claim it as a tax deduction. 1979Guardian 5 July 3/4 The tax deduction for having a company car is a tiny fraction of its real value.
1951Auden Nones (1952) 28 Agents of the Fisc pursue Absconding *tax-defaulters through The sewers of provincial towns. 1972Times 3 Oct. 2/8 (heading) ‘Scrap *tax discs’ call.
1962J. Braine Life at Top xxiii. 254 The usual *tax dodge... It makes me sick to the stomach. 1972Listener 21 Dec. 865/1 He hasn't killed himself yet... He's waiting till 5 April... Some sort of tax dodge. 1976Morecambe Guardian 7 Dec. 17/2 With that film is ‘The Swiss Conspiracy’ which is all about people who tax dodge, and blackmail, are blackmailed, and murdered, not necessarily in that order.
1876Nation (N.Y.) 30 Mar. 202 The *tax-dodger is one who, finding that the rate of taxation in Boston is too high for his means, flies..to some rural town. 1895Westm. Gaz. 4 Sept. 2/3 What the Tax-Dodger thinks he is doing is to defraud Sir William Harcourt's successor at the Exchequer of the gains of a tyrannical impost.
Ibid., [Those] who practise the gentle art of *tax-dodging in this respect are in the long run defrauding their own order.
1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 17 June 2-e/1 The fate of a plan to use *tax dollars to improve off-street parking in downtown Bozeman will be decided July 7.
1818Cobbett Pol. Register XXXIII. 350 If you were to see one of my sons now becoming a *tax-eater, as a commissioned officer in the army. 1965Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 12 Aug. (1970) 310 We hope for fewer dropouts thirteen years from now, for children able to grow up with a prospect of being responsible citizens, taxpayers, not tax-eaters.
1817Cobbett Wks. XXXII. 25 Who look upon the poor as rivals in the work of *tax-eating. 1822― Rur. Rides (1885) I. 151 Some one of the tax-eating crew had..called me an ‘incendiary’. 1936Sun (Baltimore) 30 Jan. 1/1 The time has come for a direct attack on the attempt at Washington to substitute a tax-eating bureaucracy for a liberal democratic system.
1927Hansard Commons 4 July 955 What is to be done with the *tax evader meanwhile? 1960Tax-evader [see snobocracy]. 1971‘G. Black’ Time for Pirates iv. 78 If this deal went all right..the Hydes could be on their *tax-evading boat in a couple of years.
1922Hansard Commons 27 June 1920 That type of company must be perfectly well identifiable when it is seen. You notice the stigmata of *tax evasion about it when you see it, not in the mere registration, but in the conduct and carrying on of its business. 1977Warren & Ponse in Douglas & Johnson Existential Sociol. x. 277 It is stigmatized..in the courts of law..and (unlike tax evasion) it is stigmatized morally in the courts of public opinion.
1925Contemp. Rev. June 703 He has a deep resentment against their taking refuge in *tax-exempt securities. 1933Business Week 22 Feb. 4/1 Elimination of tax exempts is the object of an amendment to the Constitution offered by Senator Hull of Tennessee. 1966Economist 30 Mar. 78/3 These industrial bonds..have so dogged the market as to increase all borrowing costs for tax-exempts. 1977New Yorker 19 Sept. 27/2 One way to do this is to float a municipal-bond issue, which traditionally pays tax-exempt interest. 1978G. Vidal Kalki v. 117 Any bona fide religion is tax-exempt in the United States.
1927Bowley & Stamp Nat. Income 1924 v. 42 Incomes above the *tax-exemption limit. 1975N.Y. Times 28 Nov. 37/4 One example of the use of incentives to attract investment is the tax-exemption on municipal bond income.
1969Manch. Guardian Weekly 22 Nov. 11 Has Anthony Grey..joined the ranks of the *tax exiles? 1978J. R. L. Anderson Death in Greenhouse ii. 27 Neither of us was attracted by the prospect of living in tax-exile.
1903D. M'Lean Stud. Apost. x. 141 Palestine..fell under this *tax-farming system.
1959‘M. Innes’ Hare sitting Up i. i. 27 *Tax fiddle of some kind? I don't like that sort. 1961Times 31 May 10/4 Inclined to see in every taxpayer a more or less skilful..*tax-fiddler.
1704Addison Italy (1733) 126 The Fowl and Gibbier are *tax free. 1917W. S. Churchill 9 Sept. in M. Gilbert Winston S. Churchill (1977) IV. Compan. i. 156, I do not however exclude the possibilities of a special bonus, presumably tax free. 1960Business Week 24 Dec. 32/2 Interest in *tax havens is largely due to the fact that U.S. tax law permits a company to accumulate profits abroad tax-free. 1964A. Wykes Gambling x. 241 Tax-free prizes.
1973Times 18 May 29/6 The Briton wanting to minimize his taxes through getting paid in a tax haven.
1950Times 24 Apr. 5/7 The stimulation of enterprise is essentially best organized on a regional footing. At present it is undertaken with varying determination by different colonies. Some grant free import of capital equipment and ‘*tax holidays’ for pioneer industries. 1977Time 10 Oct. 60/1 Haughey's notion of a permanent tax holiday for artists has at least stopped the drain of home-grown talent. 1978Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXVI. 224/2 There was firstly a three-year tax holiday followed by a period allowing accelerated depreciation and gradually increasing rates of tax.
1959J. Wood Simple Guide for Taxpayer iii. 28 Once the form has been completed it must be sent back to the *Tax Inspector who sent it out.
1842Miall in Nonconf. II. 201 The *tax layers and the tax payers.
1892Griffith tr. Fouard's St. Peter 45 To exempt them from the *tax levies every seventh year.
1902Westm. Gaz. 5 June 4/2 Representation in the law-making and *tax-levying assembly.
1898Antrobus tr. Pastor's Hist. Popes VI. 91 The *tax-list..has been preserved, and is interesting.
1959Times 24 Dec. 7/4 (heading) *Tax-loss farming. Ibid., Sir,—The so-called tax-loss farmer is generally speaking a man who carries on two businesses, one profitable and the other unprofitable. As a matter of taxation machinery he pays tax in respect of his profitable business and afterwards claims a refund of tax in respect of his unprofitable farming business. 1965I. Fleming Man with Golden Gun vii. 100 Others would want to buy in..cheaply, and use it [sc. a hotel] as a tax-loss to set against more profitable enterprises elsewhere. 1970Money Which? Mar. 64/3 Don't wait until the very end of the tax-year before selling shares for tax-loss purposes. 1975Times 14 Jan. 12/6 (Advt.), Wanted. Large run-down school... High tax losses an inducement to purchase.
1803G. Colman John Bull i. i. 3 She had disgraced her family by marrying herself to a *tax-man. 1830A. E. Bray Talba x. 83 The griping taxman, and the conquered and taxed Moor. 1891R. Dowling Isle Surrey 21 The taxman and the gasman and the waterman. 1968Guardian 22 June 5/5, I don't know what the taxman would say if you tried to get that as an expense allowance. 1970Money Which? Mar. 43/2 You are allowed free of tax..family allowances, most pensions and some other social security benefits. The taxman views all these as earned income.
1796Morse Amer. Geog. II. 549 Plundered by collectors and *tax-masters.
1738Gentl. Mag. VIII. 193/1 [Fashion] keeps them perpetually busy in doing and undoing; and Folly is her Prime Confident and *Taxmistress.
1610Histrio-m. vi. 205 Soft, sirs, I must talk with you for *tax-money, To relieve the poor. 1658J. Harrington Oceana 77 The Parishes having Levied the Tax money,..shall return it unto the Officers of the Hundreds.
1858E. B. Ramsay Remin. v. (1870) 102 The provost sends me a *tax paper.
1972Accountant 21 Sept. 369/2 It might be of interest..to mention the special rule for the *tax point of barristers' services.
1876Bancroft Hist. U.S. VI. xxxix. 207 In proportion to the general *tax-rates. 1886W. J. Tucker E. Europe 57 As long as..he is able to keep pace with his tax-rates, which..are daily becoming more exorbitant.
1830Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) II. 343 Your petitioners are the bees, and..the *tax-receivers are the drones.
1916*Tax relief [see income-tax.] 1931, etc. [see relief2 7]. 1980Times 9 Aug. 16/4, I have been offered remortgage, but my accountant says it will not qualify for tax relief.
1870‘Mark Twain’ Sketches New & Old (1875) 319 A wicked *tax-return..calculated to make a man report about four times his actual income to keep from swearing to a falsehood. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. ii. xliii. (1889) I. 498 Apt to turn their property into these exempted forms just before they make their tax returns.
1891Griffith tr. Fouard's Christ I. 225 Engaged in farming out the *tax-revenue of the provinces.
1545Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 21 To bring in with him the *taxt roll. 1841Spalding Italy & It. Isl. I. 399 In Campania..Honorius was compelled in the year 395 to expunge from the tax-roll, as become utterly waste, more than three hundred thousand acres of land.
1961Guardian 20 Feb. 16/7 If all the *tax shelters were eliminated..the income tax yield would be increased by a third. 1982Financial Times 13 Mar. 14/3 Investors will be seeking to use up the effective tax shelter offered by an appreciation of their assets each year in line with inflation.
1959Wall Street Jrnl. 17 Sept. (Eastern ed.) 21 (Advt.), *Tax-sheltered investment. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 17 Jan. 9/6 And how to defer income tax on the interest you get. Plans that offer marvelous tax-sheltered advantages.
1976F. Zweig New Acquisitive Society ii. iv. 108 The *tax thresholds in real terms have been substantially lowered over the years.
1970*Tax year [see tax-loss above]. 1971Money Which? Mar. 4/1 These taxes are charged for a particular year of assessment, which always starts on 6 April and ends on 5 April in the following year. This is commonly called a tax year.
▸ tax preparer n. N. Amer. Accounting a person or company employed to complete the annual tax return of another.
1963Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. 11 Dec. 31/4 (advt.) Male, female help wntd... A *tax preparer experienced in individual income tax work. 1967Daily Times (Salisbury, Maryland) (Electronic text) 27 Feb. 4/3 Then there are the tax preparers, part-timers generally, who operate in variety stores, gasoline stations, hardware stores or wherever else they can hang a sign for a few weeks before April 15. 2004Toronto Star (Nexis) 17 Mar. g15 Proportion of Canadians who use professional tax preparers: More than 30 per cent.
▪ II. † tax, n.2 Obs.
Also in 6 taxe.
[ad. L. tax-us yew.]
The yew-tree (also tax-tree); transf. a bow made of the wood of the yew.
1541Act 33 Hen. VIII, c. 9 §6 No bowyer shall sell..any bowe of ewe of the taxe called elke, aboue the price of iii. s. iiii. d. 1618Bolton Florus iv. xii. (1636) 331 Poyson..is commonly there scruzed out of tax-trees. 1651G. Hill On Cartwright's Incomparable Poems in C.'s Poems, Their unbridled Muse [can] securely run Undaunted through the rage of Tax or Gun.
▪ III. tax, v.|tæks|
Also 4–7 taxe.
[app. a. OF. taxe-r (13th c. in Littré), ad. L. taxāre to censure, charge, tax with a fault; to rate, value, reckon, compute (at so much), make a valuation of; in med.L. also to impose a tax. The inherited form was OF. tausser, taucer (later, by assimilation, tauxer), It. tassare, Sp. tasar, Pg. taxar. Senses 1, 3, 6 are all in French.]
I.
1. To estimate or determine the amount of (a tallage, fine, penalty, damages, etc.); to assess; rarely, to impose, levy (a tax); also, to settle the price or value of. Obs. exc. in Law, to assess (costs). Const. † to (the amount).
[680K. Cædualla Grant in Earle Land-Charters 281 Hanc libertatem sub estimatione LXX tributariorum taxauimus.] c1290Beket 397 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 118 A taillage þov taxt fram ȝer to ȝer þoruȝ-out al þi londe. [1314–15Rolls of Parlt. I. 290/2 La partie serra atteynt du trespas..& les damages taxes a la volunte son adversair.] 13..Cursor M. 27321 (Cott.) [To] knau þe circumstances o þe plight, for to tax þe penance right. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VIII. 271 Þe chirches of Engelond were i-taxed to þe verray value [orig. secundum valorem taxatæ sunt]. 1424Paston Lett. I. 13 The damages..were taxed to cxx li. 1530–1Act 22 Hen. VIII, c. 15 Fines and amerciamentes affiered, taxed, sette, extreted, or judged. 1551in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford (1880) 207 Taxable..to suche taxe and tallenge as shall be uppon hym taxed and sessyd. 1552Huloet, Taxe damages in sute, æstimare litem. 1592Acts Court Requests 97 The costs to be taxed to the vttermost charge approved due. 1768Blackstone Comm. III. xxiv. 400 These costs on both sides are taxed and moderated by the..proper officer of the court. 1885Daily Tel. 24 Dec. (Cassell), A returning officer, whose bill of costs has been taxed on the application of the candidates.
†2. To impose, ordain, prescribe (a thing) to a person; also, to order (a person) to or to do something. Obs.
c1350Will. Palerne 5124 Loke..þat neuer þe pore porayle be piled for þi sake, ne taxed to taliage. 1390Gower Conf. I. 147 To the knyht this lawe he taxeth, That he shall gon and come ayein [etc.]. Ibid. 287 Such a Statut thanne he sette, And in this wise his lawe taxeth. c1450Songs, Carols, etc. (E.E.T.S.) 79/249 [Fortune] as her-self liste ordre & devise, Doth euery man his parte devide & taxe. c1500Melusine 210 We taxe you to pay to this noble pucelle all such dommages that she hath had at your cause. 1814Scott Diary 6 Aug. in Lockhart, The islanders retort, that a man can do no more than he can; that they are not used to be taxed to their work so severely.
†b. To settle, fix, determine the extent of. Obs.
1390Gower Conf. III. 223 Whan Salomon his bone hath taxed, The god of that which he hath axed Was riht wel paid.
3. To impose a tax upon; to subject to taxation. Also fig.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 247 Þe dettes þat men þam auht, þer stedes & þer wonyng, Wer taxed & bitauht to þe eschete of þe kyng. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 342 For oon mai seie þat..he [the Pope] haþ power singuler to taxe gracis, as him likiþ. 1453Rolls of Parlt. V. 233/1 Rightfully charged or taxed to the Dismes. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 360 It shalbe lawfull for euery Magistrate to taxe y⊇ people for y⊇ same cause. 1598Hakluyt Voy. I. 486 The people of the countrie..being taxed and pilled so often as he thinketh good. 1627Sir E. Coke in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1659) I. 501 The King cannot tax any by way of Loans. 1657in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 214 The same Ley..being unduly taxed. 1776Adam Smith W.N. v. ii. (1869) II. 420 In the Venetian territory all the arable lands which are given in lease to farmers are taxed at a tenth of the rent. 1857Buckle Civiliz. I. vii. 351 It was in the same reign that there was settled the right of the people to be taxed entirely by their representatives.
b. to tax into or out of some state.
1891Scrivener Fields & Cities 70 Proposals have been made..to tax the landlords out of existence.
4. fig. To burden; to make serious demands upon; to put a strain on.
1672Marvell Rehearsal Transp. i. 51 Some Critical People, who will..tax up an old-wife's fable to the punctuality of History. 1697Dryden æneid Ded., Ess. (ed. Ker) II. 232 What had become of me, if Virgil had taxed me with another book. 1772Mackenzie Man World ii. v, I have no right to tax you with my sorrows. 1832Lytton Eugene A. i. x, We will not tax the patience of the reader. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xxxvi, My ingenuity was often taxed for expedients. 1876Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. iii. xxvi, Most men are afraid of being bored or taxed by a wife's family.
5. U.S. (esp. New England) colloq. To price (a thing at so much); to charge (a person so much for a thing).
1846–7F. M. Whitcher Widow Bedott Papers 218 (Bartl.) In trading with the clergy [he] only taxed his goods at half price. 1860Bartlett Dict. Amer. s.v., ‘What will you tax me a yard for this cloth?’ 1888Farmer Americanisms s.v., An everyday colloquialism is ‘What will you tax me?’
II.
6. To censure; to reprove, blame (a person, his action, etc.); to accuse, charge; to take to task, call to account.
1569Ld. Cecil Let. in Strype Ann. Ref. (1709) I. liii. 532 To think of us as our evil willers are disposed..to tax us. 1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. xi. (Arb.) 41 Another kind of Poet, who intended to taxe the common abuses and vice of the people in rough and bitter speaches. a1619Fletcher, etc. Knt. Malta i. iii, If any therefore can their manners tax..Let 'em speak now. 1692Dryden Cleomenes ii. ii, I have been to blame; And you have justly taxed my long neglect. 1709Pope Ess. Crit. 589 Fear most to tax an Honourable Fool Whose right it is, uncensur'd to be dull. 1768H. Walpole Hist. Doubts 12 note, That Chronicle..which seems to tax the envy and rapaciousness of Clarence as the Causes of the dissention. a1806Bp. Horsley Serm. (1816) II. xvi. 39 Eve..taxes the serpent as her seducer. 1873Tristram Moab v. 96, I was next taxed, and replied that [etc.].
b. Const. † for, of (now rare), with (now usual); † also inf. and obj. clause (obs.).
1548Patten Exped. Scotl. E viij, Apertly to tax their goouernour wt y⊇ note of dissimulacion. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 1375 All the world would taxe him to have violated the law of nations. 1615R. Brathwait Strappado (1878) 82 Thy lippes..so modest as nere taxt of sinne. 1624Capt. Smith Virginia iv. 159, I know I shall bee taxed for writing so much of my selfe. 1651Life Father Sarpi (1676) 11 Taxing him to be an Usurper and an unjust Tyrant. 1665Dryden Ind. Emperor iii. ii, None shall tax me with base Perjury. 1697Dryden Virg. Past. Pref. (1721) I. 86 A celebrated French Writer taxes him for permitting æneas to do nothing without the assistance of some God. 1703Rules Civility 262 A Magistrate..has been taxed, that instead of Administring Justice fairly, he sells it to the highest Bidder. 1726Pope Odyss. xx. 437 Tax not..Of rage, or folly, my prophetic mind. 1777[see sense 7]. 1833H. Martineau Berkeley i. iii, I do not mean to tax Rhoda with falsehood. 1871R. Ellis Catullus lxiv. 322 Chants which an after-time shall tax of vanity never.
†c. absol. To censure, find fault. Obs.
1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. xv. (Arb.) 48 In those days when the Poets first taxed by Satyre and Comedy, there was [etc.]. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. Democr. to Rdr. 4, I did sometime laugh and scoffe with Lucian, and Satyrically taxe with Menippus.
†7. To call in question; to challenge, dispute (a statement, etc.). Obs.
1614Sir R. Dudley in Fortesc. Papers (Camden) 8 In all wherin my honour nor honestye may not be taxed. 1642Rogers Naaman 24 Prone to taxe Gods wisedom, and call him to our barre. 1777Priestley Matt. & Spir. (1782) I. xvi. 191 If..any person will tax my opinion..I shall tax him with great stupidity.
III. †8. Used to render Gr. ἀπογράϕειν, to enter in a list, to register, enroll, enter in a list or statement of property. Obs. rare.
1526Tindale Luke ii. 3 And every man went in to his awne shyre toune there to be taxed. Ibid. 5 And Joseph also ascended from Galile..in to a cite of David, which is called bethleem..to be taxed. 1534(ed. 2) Ibid. ii. 1 Ther went oute a commaundment from Auguste the Emperour, that all the woorlde shuld be taxed [1526 shulde be valued; Vulg. describeretur; Wyclif schuld be discryued; Geneva, 1611 taxed; Rheims, 1881 (R.V.) enrolled].
▸ intr. Polit. (orig. U.S.). to tax and spend: to increase or collect taxes for the purpose of increasing public spending; to pursue a policy of tax-and-spend. Cf. tax-and-spend n. and adj.
The collocation of the two verbs was perh. strengthened by the alleged declaration of H. L. Hopkins in quot. 1938.
1928Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 22 662 Their theory holds the bolder implications of fiscal reform through taxing and spending. 1936D. G. Yorkey in Cornell Law Q. June 630 (title) Validity of agricultural adjustment act: extent of congressional power to tax and spend for the general welfare. [1938A. Krock in N.Y. Times 13 Nov. iv. 3/2 Administrator Harry L. Hopkins became the spokesman to a group at the Yonkers (not Saratoga) racetrack: ‘We will spend and spend, tax and tax, elect and elect.’] 1969H. Holloway Polit. Southern Negro iii. 45 Some even condemned Mississippi Democrats..as ‘populistic’ in their willingness to tax and spend. 1999Independent 1 July ii. 3/1 Those most unashamed of taxing and spending among the Liberal Democrats happen also to be those least keen on co-operation with New Labour. |