Taxes are mandatory contributions levied on individuals or corporations by a government entity—whether local, regional, or national. Tax revenues finance government activities, including public works and services such as roads and schools, or programs such as Social Security and Medicare. In Zimbabwe, taxes are charged and collected by many agencies not only limited to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA). Some of these agencies include NSSA, ZINARA, ZIMDEF, etc just to mention a few. In the majority of cases, taxes may be referred to by different names such as levy, fees, etc and the differentiating factor is the aspect of it being a compulsory payment and also it being collected by a Governmnet or its functional equivalent such as a local authority which is an extension of the central government. It then follows that even rates charged by local authorities also qualify as taxes (property taxes).

In economics, taxes fall on whoever pays the burden of the tax, whether this is the entity being taxed, such as a business, or the end consumers of the business’s goods. From an accounting perspective, there are various taxes to consider, including payroll taxes, corporate tax, estate duty, value added tax, capital gains tax, etc.