The meaning of 'Tax' is to impose a financial charge upon a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes can be imposed by a variety of different sub national entities, and consist of 'direct tax' or 'indirect tax'. They can be paid in money or through labour (often unpaid). Funds that are gained through taxes are then used by states and cities throughout the world to carry out a variety of different functions in order to aid our quality of life, for example, expenditures can include the enforcement of law and public order, protection of property, the economic infrastructure, public works, social engineering and the operation of the government. Our Taxes section on Going Legal contains thousands of different articles varying on what taxes get spent on, to what the world would be like without them, so browse through today and who knows, you might learn something new.