The government uses the money it gets from taxes to pay for things. For example, taxes are used to pay people who work for the government, such as the military and police, provide services such as education and healthcare, and to maintain or build things like roads, bridges, and sewers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayMost countries have a tax system to finance public/common/agreed national needs and government functions: some impose a fixed percentage rate of taxation on annual personal income, some on a scale based on amounts of annual income, and some countries impose almost no taxation, or a very low tax rate for a given tax area. Some countries impose a tax on both corporate income and dividends; this is often referred to as double taxation because individual shareholders who receive this payment from the company will also have some taxes imposed on that personal income. There are many different types of taxes. Taxes are based on how much money a company makes Earnings are called corporate taxes. Taxes based on how much money a person earns are called income taxes. Taxes based on how much a person buys are called sales taxes. Taxes based on how much a person owns are called property taxes. . Things like homes have a property tax. The taxes that are paid when the official document is approved are called stamp duties (because in the past a stamp was placed on the document). Changing who owns a home will often need approval documents. Taxes that are paid when someone dies are called inheritance or estate taxes. Taxes are also usually divided into 3 groups Fixed taxes: everyone pays the same percentage. Russia has a flat income tax and everyone in Russia has to pay 13% of income. Progressive taxes: The more money a person earns, the higher percentage of their income they will have to pay. Most countries have progressive income taxes. Regressive taxes: the less money a person earns, the higher percentage of their income they will have to pay. Sales taxes are generally called regressive because the poor spend a larger percentage of their money than the rich. Often, because different parts of government use taxes for different purposes, people end up paying a lot of taxes. In the United States, for example, the national government has an income tax; most states have an income tax or a sales tax, or both; and cities and towns may have a sales tax or property tax. In some states like Ohio, the sales tax is different in each county. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In ancient times, people of one city or area would attack another place and make the locals pay homage. Tribute meant that the attacked people would pay money (or other things) and the attacker would stop attacking them. A famous tribute was the Danegeld when the Danes conquered part of England and made the English pay thousands of silver coins.