What is indirect tax? How does that affect your money?
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Indirect taxes are billed on goods and services, not income or profit. These taxes are collected by companies such as retailers and producers, and then passed the payment to the government. The costs of these taxes are embedded in the price of the product or service and are often unaware of the consumer. Indirect taxes include various types such as sales tax, excise tax, sin tax, property tax, value added tax (VAT).
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An indirect tax is a tax that the government places on goods and services rather than income. Instead of directly applying to revenue, these taxes are collected by intermediaries such as retailers and producers, and then sent money to the government.
When you buy something, you are paying indirect tax as part of the purchase price, which is often not itemized in your receipt, but that is normal. Sales tax. This hidden fee is automatically included in the cost of the items you purchase.
For example, if you buy soda from a store, the price you pay is Goods tax For soda. The store will collect this tax from you and later pay it to the government. This is an indirect tax mechanism, and is subtly included in the prices of goods and services.
Here are eight common examples of indirect taxes:
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Sales and Use Tax: This is a sales tax imposed by the government on the sale of goods and services. Traditional sales taxes are only charged to the final end users of the goods or services.
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VAT: VAT is a type of indirect tax that is imposed at various stages of production. Collection is incorporated into the product price at each production stage.
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Products and Services Tax (GST): This includes taxing the supply of goods and services.
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Excise tax: This tax is collected on certain products at the time of manufacture, not at sales.
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Customization work or Customs: Custom taxes or duties are taxes imposed on imports and some exports by the country’s customs authorities to increase revenue.
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Environmental and carbon taxes: These taxes are intended to reduce the carbon emissions of building owners. It is also known as “Green Levies.” This means that it is deployed to energy users as part of protecting environmental sustainability.
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Communication tax: This includes taxes on communications and communications services such as paging services, dispatch services, and even satellite television.
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Fuel tax: This includes taxes levied on the fuel company that will be later handed over to the register’s consumers. For example, if you pay gas at a Florida pump, sales tax and freight services tax will be combined with regular retail tax of $0.386 per gallon (according to 2024 data).
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Alcohol and Spirit Tax: This means taxation on beer, wine and distillation spirit. Like fuel taxes, this varies from state to state.