| A | B |
|---|
| Progressive Tax | Any tax in which each step in the rate schedule is geared to the taxpayer's ability to pay (e.g. income tax) |
| Tax Return | Declaration of taxable income and the exemptions and deductions claimed; filed with the Internal Revenue Service. |
| Payroll Tax | Tax levied on employers and their employees, and on self employed persons. |
| Regressive Tax | Any tax levied at a flat rate, i.e. falls most heavily on those least able to pay it. |
| Excise Tax | Tax levied on the production, transportation, sale, or consumption of goods or services. |
| Estate Tax | A tax levied directly on the estate of a deceased person. |
| Gift Tax | Tax imposed on the making of a gift by a living person |
| Custom Duty | Tax on goods brought into the United States. |
| Deficit | Yearly shortfall between revenue and spending. |
| Public Debt | All the money borrowed by the government over the years and not yet repaid, plus the accrued interest on that money. |
| Entitlement | Benefits that federal law says must be paid to those persons who meet the eligibility requirements set for those payments. |
| Continuing Resolution | Measure that, when signed by the President, allows an agency to function on the basis of appropriations made the prior year. |
