A tax collector (also called a taxman) is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations. The term could also be applied to those who audit
tax return
A tax return is the completion of documentation that calculates an entity or individual's income earned and the amount of taxes to be paid to the government or government organizations or, potentially, back to the taxpayer.
Taxation is one of ...
s. Tax collectors are often portrayed as being evil, and in the modern world share a similar stereotype to that of lawyers.
History
Tax collectors in the Bible
Tax collectors, also known as
publican
In antiquity, publicans ( Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed th ...
s, are mentioned many times in
the Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
(mainly in the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
). They were reviled by the Jews of Jesus' day because of their perceived greed and collaboration with the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
occupiers. Tax collectors amassed personal wealth by demanding tax payments in excess of what Rome levied and keeping the difference. They worked for
tax farmers
Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contract ...
. In the
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
,
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
sympathizes with the tax collector
Zacchaeus
Zacchaeus (sometimes spelled Zaccheus; grc, Ζακχαῖος, '; he, זכי, "pure, innocent") was a chief tax-collector at Jericho in the Bible. He is known primarily for his faith in climbing a sycamore tree to see Jesus, and also his gen ...
, causing outrage from the crowds that Jesus would rather be the guest of a sinner than of a more respectable or " righteous" person. Matthew the Apostle in the New Testament was a tax collector.
Jacob Gaón
Jacob Gaón (born in Vitoria, Spain, died in Tolosa, Spain, 1463) was a Jewish Basque tax collector.Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794), CNRS (
tax collection agencies
A revenue service, revenue agency or taxation authority is a government agency responsible for the intake of government revenue, including taxes and sometimes non-tax revenue. Depending on the jurisdiction, revenue services may be charged with ...
include. ''inter alia'', the
Canada Revenue Agency
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax cre ...
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
HM Revenue and Customs
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Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation t ...
and
Her Majesty's Customs and Excise
HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was th ...
), Tax Administration Service (Spanish:
Servicio de Administración Tributaria
The Tax Administration Service ( es, Servicio de Administración Tributaria, SAT) is the revenue service of the Mexican federal government. The government agency is a deconcentrated bureau of the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit, Mexic ...
, SAT) in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, the
Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuatio ...
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
or the
Direction Générale des Finances Publiques
Direction may refer to:
*Relative direction, for instance left, right, forward, backwards, up, and down
** Anatomical terms of location for those used in anatomy
** List of ship directions
* Cardinal direction
Mathematics and science
* Directi ...
(DGFiP) in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Examples
*
Catchpole
Catchpole is an uncommon surname, being a type of tax collector in medieval England. The name is a combination of Old English (cace-, catch) and medieval Latin (pullus, a chick). It derives from the image that people who owed tax were as difficult ...
*
District magistrate
A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reve ...