A revenue service, revenue agency or taxation authority is a
government agency
A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...
responsible for the intake of
government revenue, including
taxes and sometimes
non-tax revenue.
Depending on the
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...
, revenue services may be charged with
tax collection, investigation of
tax evasion
Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...
, or carrying out
audits.
In certain instances, they also administer payments to certain relevant individuals (such as statutory sick pay, statutory maternity pay) as well as targeted financial support (
welfare) to families and individuals (through payment of
tax credits or
transfer payments).
The chief executive of the revenue agency is usually styled as Commissioner, Minister, Secretary or Director.
Revenue services by jurisdiction
References
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