use tax

use tax
/yoohs/
a state tax imposed on goods purchased outside a state for which state sales tax has not been paid.

* * *

      levy on the use or possession of a commodity. Under the principle that the taxpayer should pay according to the benefits received from public services, a use tax is often levied on the user of a service, so that costs of the service are not borne by the general taxpayer. Common examples are motor-vehicle and boat licenses and user fees for airports or harbour-docking privileges. The revenue from the tax is generally used by a government to cover the costs of the maintenance and regulation of the services—in these instances, highways, waterways, and airports. In the United States a use tax is often levied by state or local governments on purchases made outside the jurisdiction and therefore not subject to the jurisdiction's retail sales tax. In this case the use tax is generally equal to the retail sales tax.

      In the United States the first federal use tax was levied on telephone and telegraph messages during the Spanish-American War (1898). During World War I all freight and passenger transportation was subject to a use tax. A federal use tax was levied on all motor vehicles during World War II, but this tax was eventually shifted to the states.

      The use tax as a vehicle-licensing plan serves a dual purpose as revenue raiser and as a method for identifying all vehicles using the public streets and roads. However, it is a regressive tax, despite numerous attempts to make it more equitable.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • use tax — n: a tax imposed on the use of personal property and esp. property purchased in another state; specif: a one time tax imposed on the exercise or enjoyment of any right or power over tangible personal property that is incident to the ownership,… …   Law dictionary

  • Use tax — A use tax is a type of excise tax levied in the United States. It is assessed upon otherwise tax free tangible personal property purchased by a resident of the assessing state for use, storage or consumption of goods in that state (not for… …   Wikipedia

  • use tax — A tax levied upon the use, storage, or consumption of tangible personal property purchased outside the taxing state or taxing district, being a supplement or complement of a sales tax, imposed to prevent residents of a jurisdiction having a sales …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • use tax — noun Etymology: use (I) : a supplement to a retail sales tax designed to reach goods purchased in a state that does not tax them and brought or shipped in to the taxing jurisdiction for use, storage, or consumption * * * /yoohs/ a state tax… …   Useful english dictionary

  • use tax — noun A charge imposed on the use or possession of personal property …   Wiktionary

  • Real property use tax — The Real Property Use Tax (RPUT) is a tax system with assessment based on the size, level of development, and time in use of real property, and designed for general revenue acquisition. The tax system is a proposed replacement for the federal… …   Wikipedia

  • Sales and use tax — refers to:* Sales tax * Use tax …   Wikipedia

  • compensating use tax — Same as use tax. =>> tax. Webster s New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000 …   Law dictionary

  • Tax-free shopping — refers to the opportunity for customers to purchase goods or services without paying any tax normally collected at retail, such as sales tax, Goods and Services Tax, value added tax, or consumption tax.Tax free shopping in the United StatesTax… …   Wikipedia

  • Tax forms in the United States — are used by taxpayers and tax exempt organizations to report financial information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). They are used to report income and calculate taxes owed to the government of the United States. TOC Federal tax forms 990… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”