Topic summary
Ad valorem
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Ad valorem tax.
United States
Ad valorem duties are important to those importing goods into the United States because the amount of duty owed is often based on the value of the imported commodity. Ad valorem taxes (mainly real property tax and sales taxes) are a major source of revenues for state and municipal governments, especially in jurisdictions that do not employ a personal income tax. Virtually all state and local sales taxes in the United States are ad valorem.