What explains the difference between a tax and a tariff?

Answer 1

Taxes are paid on domestic economic activity while tariffs are paid on international trade.

Answer 2

Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country. Depending on local legislation and regulations, the import or export of some goods may be restricted or forbidden, and the customs agency enforces these rules.[1] The customs authority may be different from the Immigration authority, which monitors persons who leave or enter the country, checking for appropriate documentation, apprehending people wanted by international arrest warrants, and impeding the entry of others deemed dangerous to the country. In most countries customs are attained through government agreements and international laws.

A customs duty is a tariff or tax on the importation (usually) or exportation (unusually) of goods. In the Kingdom of England, customs duties were typically part of the customary revenue of the king, and therefore did not need parliamentary consent to be levied, unlike excise duty, land tax, or other forms of taxes.

Commercial goods not yet cleared through customs are held in a customs area, often called a bonded store, until processed. All authorised ports are recognised customs area.

A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports (trade tariff), or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage (electrical tariff, etc.).

The word comes from the Italian word tariffa "list of prices, book of rates," which is derived from the Arabic ta'rif "to notify or announce."

Answer 3

A tax is an amount of money given to the government to pay for the development of the country. A tariff is an amount of money put on each item that you have to pay when you trade with another country on top of the original price.