direct tax

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

direct′ tax′, [Govt.]

1. Business a tax exacted directly from the persons who will bear the burden of it (without reimbursement to them at the expense of others), as a poll tax, a general property tax, or an income tax.

• 1785–90, American.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

direct tax noun

1. a tax paid by the person or organization on which it is levied
   Compare indirect tax