impôt

See also: impost

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French impost, borrowed from Latin impōsitus, albeit with syncope.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.po/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

impôt m (plural impôts)

1. tax

Usage notes

While in English both impôt and taxe are translated as tax, in French there is a distinction, not always observed. Formally, an impôt is a compulsory charge, such as assessed on persons – an income tax, a poll tax, or a property tax, and the like – while a taxe is levied on transactions, such as a sales tax or stamp duty.

However, usage is inconsistent, and taxe is often used generically to refer to all such levies, though this is decried by some as an Anglicism (due to influence from tax). See French Wikipedia articles on impôt and taxe for detailed discussion of formal definitions and usage.

The phrase «impôt et taxes» may be translated simply as “taxes”, or, if one wishes to emphasize a distinction, as “taxes and duties” (such as stamp duty).

Coordinate terms

• taxe

Derived terms

• impôt progressif
• impôt proportionnel
• impôt sur le revenu

Further reading

• “impôt”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.