Local taxes
Local taxes include taxes that apply to county or smaller divisions of government. These taxes can range from a local sales tax to property taxes and assessments.
A tax may be defined as a "pecuniary burden laid upon individuals or property to support the government […] a payment exacted by legislative authority."[1] A tax "is not a voluntary payment or donation, but an enforced contribution, exacted pursuant to legislative authority" and is "any contribution imposed by government […] whether under the name of toll, tribute, tallage, gabel, impost, duty, custom, excise, subsidy, aid, supply, or other name."[1]
Evaluating government websites
Government websites, be they county, city, or school district websites, should include:
- Information about all taxes levied by the government whose website it is.
- School District example: if property taxes fund a school district, we'd expect disclosure that the property tax of XXX percent goes to funding the local school district.
- County / City example: List of local taxes, ability to pay taxes online.
- Tax revenues states in the budget. This is common in school district budgets who often break their revenue down by local, state, and federal.
- Example of proactively disclosed tax information: Anderson County, SC
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Black's Law Dictionary, p. 1307 (5th ed. 1979).
