Formal term for taxes or the tax system, used in legal, economic, and administrative contexts. More formal than 税金.
租税の負担が年々増えている。
The tax burden is increasing year by year.
The government imposed a tax on imported goods.
政府は新たな租税制度を導入した。
The government introduced a new taxation system.
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.