CEVAP:

It is an inherent power of the sovereign, exercised through the legislature, to impose burdens upon subjects and objects within its jurisdiction for the purpose of raising revenues to carry out the legitimate objects of government. It is also defined as the act of levying a tax, i.e. the process or means by which the sovereign, through its law-making body, raises income to defray the necessary expenses of government. It is a method of apportioning the cost of government among those who, in some measure, are privileged to enjoy its benefits and must therefore bear its burdens. The primary purpose of taxation (the revenue or fiscal purpose of taxation) on the part of the government is to provide funds or property with which to promote the general welfare and the protection of its citizens and to enable it to finance its multifarious activities. Taxation may also be employed for purposes of regulation or control (the non-revenue or regulatory purpose of taxation). Taxation is often employed as a devise for regulation by means of which certain effects or conditions envisioned by the government may be achieved.