Tax a payment in cash without requirement on return is called, which imposes upon a public community for the achievement of incomes to all persons, who carry out fiscal circumstances.

The word "tax" comes from the old high German stiura, which was meant support and used in the sense by support, assistance or also aid. From that as Naturalabgaben in the form of special or services raised taxes today pure payments in cash became original.

Taxes are the main source of income of a modern state and the most important instrument for the financing of the national tasks, besides however by the financial effects on all citizens and the complex tax legislation a continuous political and social point at issue.

Taxes as deliveries

The main distinguisher to other public charges lies in the fact that the payment of taxes justifies in principle no requirement on return. During thus the contribution for the bare possibility is raised of taking an achievement up and a fee or a duty for the actual achievement demand, applies with the tax the Nonaffektationsprinzip. Therefore one does not acquire with taxes a requirement on a concrete national return (the oil tax is no fee for the use of roads). The public expenditures are financed in principle by the sum of all tax receipts; it is thus not like that that a certain tax may be used only for the financing of a certain state function. The use of the oil tax incomes may not be limited e.g. to traffic or energy projects or to the traffic exhibition stop.

From the definition of the tax as delivery, which becomes "imposed" the taxpayer, two further characteristics can be derived:

• The delivery is imposed upon to the debtor without consideration for a possibly corresponding will. Donations and fiscal operating revenues separate thereby.
• The delivery is imposed upon to the debtor also without consideration for an opposing will. From this in the conclusion the disobedience sequences (extra charge for late payment, obligation money, fine, etc.) are seen, which can be used from the government authority to the execution of the taxation.

Historical development

Antique one

There are taxes since the early antiquity and it under the most diverse designations was already led, e.g. Tribute, tariff or tenth. Although their authorization is seen traditional in the fact that joint needs must be satisfied, then some reasons witness for the introduction of new taxes of remarkable national creativity.

There are the first vouchers over national deliveries in the 3. Millenium v.Chr from Egypt (writer administered those harvest of you and raised a Nile tariff). Also from the urban advanced cultures in Mesopotamien the taxation is historically authentic (here the temple administration book led and paid duty the aminal husbandry and fishing).

Both the assyrische and the Persian realm could do during their bloom times without a taxation of the own citizens. The financial requirement was covered by tributes, which in wars the defeated and to subjected peoples were imposed upon.

Greece, "the cradle of the democracy ", financed the commonwealth over indirect taxes (among other things tariffs), the work and services of the Athener citizens and the comprehensive taxation of all not Athener. The Parthenon on the Akropolis served occasionally than vault for the Verwahrung of the tax receipts.

The financial administration of the Roman king time (753 to 510 v. Chr.) was similar, because the state functions usually settled by the citizens themselves and only in unusual situations (usually from cause of a war) became a delivery of the fortune (Tributum) due. For the assessment, which became Census, two high officials (censores) selected, whom the tax declarations (professiones) the citizen examined and whom taxes drove.

During the time of the Roman Republic of (509 to 133 v.Chr.) the realm expanded enormously and ever more provinces and tributary realms contributed to the covering of the national financial requirement, so that in the year 167 v. Chr. the Roman citizens were freed from the direct taxes.

In the provinces the direct taxes (reason and Kopfsteuer) were administered through power of attorney gates, but the collection of the indirect taxes (tariffs, way and use funds) was leased for the sake of simplicity and the system of the tax tenants (publicani) led to mismanagement and unfairness. Only emperor Augustus put the entire taxation again into the hands of a national official

In Palestine, since 63 v. the Chr. the Roman realm delivery requiring, at present by Jesus birth is a tax estimation (census) with recording of the population and its fortune (census) was accomplished. Beside the Roman taxes still substantial religious deliveries became due: As well as tenth, the one obligation delivery on the part of the priests and Leviten represented temple-expensively for the covering of the costs of the public Kultus.

The Teuton, who knew "the freiwilligen honour delivery in before-Roman time instead of a taxation only "at the princes, the attempt is to have given to the taxation by the Romans the cause for the battle in the Teutoburger forest. But west the Rhine became generally accepted the Roman financial administration and by in Treverum (Trier) the resident Provinzialprokurator was led.

With the fall of the Roman realm, with rising public expenditures, the tax receipts smaller and the public treasury (aerarium), which so far in the Saturntempel were kept and by the senate supervised, in favor of the imperial special estate (fiscus) one dissolved. Forced to cover not only the costs of the Roman budget to gain but also as large an increase of the private possession as possible the first - guaranteed historically - curiosities show up in the tax legislation: "Pecunia non olet" (money does not stink) - to justify this well-known expression used by emperor Vespasian around a tax on public institutes for need.

Articles in category "Tax"

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