taxation

American  

[tak-sey-shuhn] / tækˈseɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of taxing.

2. the fact of being taxed.

3. a tax imposed.

4. the revenue raised by taxes.

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taxation British  

/ tækˈseɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or principle of levying taxes or the condition of being taxed

2. 1. an amount assessed as tax

   2. a tax rate

3. revenue from taxes

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taxation Cultural  

1. A government's practice of collecting money from citizens and businesses within its domain to support its operations.

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Usage

What is taxation? Taxation is the act of making people and organizations pay taxes. Taxation is how a government collects money (taxes) in order to financially support itself. Governments use the money collected from citizens to pay for welfare programs, the military, roads and bridges, government employees, science programs, public schools, and the many other services a government is responsible for. Almost every country on Earth has some form of taxation system. Taxation is not voluntary, even if the taxpayer doesn’t directly benefit from the tax they pay. You cannot refuse to pay taxes without consequences. In most countries, you will be jailed or suffer another punishment for not paying taxes.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• protaxation
  adjective
• antitaxation
  adjective
• retaxation
  noun
• nontaxation
  noun
• self-taxation
  noun
• taxational
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of taxation

1250–1300; < Medieval Latin taxātiōn- (stem of taxātiō ) an appraising ( see tax, -ation); replacing Middle English taxacioun < Anglo-French < Medieval Latin, as above

Explanation

Taxation refers to the practice of a government collecting money from its citizens to pay for public services. Without taxation, there would be no public libraries or parks. One of the most frequently debated political topics is taxation. Taxation is the practice of collecting taxes (money) from citizens based on their earnings and property. The money raised from taxation supports the government and allows it to fund police and courts, have a military, build and maintain roads, along with many other services. Taxation is the price of being a citizen, though politicians and citizens often argue about how much taxation is too little or too much.

Example Sentences

The government removed green levies from bills in April, transferring the cost to general taxation instead, and saving an average of £150 a year off bills.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

This sort of change in behavior would hardly be terrible; it would generate more income for workers, more output for employers and more revenue for the government in the form of base-pay taxation.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026

However, breweries are facing a "suffocating level of taxation" and Siba wants to see a tax reduction on draught beer in pubs.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

State lawmakers are considering legislation that would exempt from taxation 50% of the residential property owned by a fully disabled veteran, or 100% if their household income does not exceed $40,000.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

I gave little thought to the debates regarding taxation by our Parliament.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• duty
• tariff
• tax
• tax collection