Formal term for taxes or the tax system, used in legal, economic, and administrative contexts. More formal than 税金.
The tax burden is increasing year by year.
The government introduced a new taxation system.
The government imposed a tax on imported goods.
Citizens have an obligation to pay their taxes every year.
Companies bear a heavy tax burden.
Non-profit organizations are sometimes exempted from taxes.
税 is a short, general term for tax often used in compounds (消費税, 所得税), whereas 租税 is a formal standalone word covering taxation as a whole.
課税 refers to the act of imposing a tax, while 租税 refers to the tax itself or the tax system as a concept.
租税 is a formal term for taxes as a category, while 税制 describes how those taxes are structured and administered.
tax avoidance
tax treaty; bilateral tax agreement
tax burden
tax shifting; shifting of tax
tax incidence; incidence of taxation
tax haven
Sino-Japanese compound of 租 (tax, tribute) and 税 (tax, duty). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with taxation.