Governments of the world have to take care of their population. For this they need income. This is where tax comes in. Taxes are basically financial charges which are imposed up on an individual or a legal entity by the government. Tax can also be imposed by an entity that substitutes the government. Taxes are taken to support the government. They are of two types; direct tax and indirect tax. The tax can be taken in any of these forms. The term direct tax usually has more than one meaning: a colloquial meaning and, a United States constitutional law meaning. Due to this, certain taxes are direct taxes in the colloquial sense but in the constitutional sense they become indirect taxes. In the colloquial sense, it is the form of tax which is paid directly to government by the person on which it has been imposed. Its examples are income taxes, corporate taxes, and transfer taxes like gift tax or estate tax. This makes it different from an indirect tax. In the US constitutional law sense direct tax is basically a tax laid on property on the basis of its ownership. Similarly, the term indirect tax has more than one meaning. In the colloquial sense it means a tax collected by an intermediary from the person who actually bears the ultimate economic burden of the tax. The intermediary later has to file a tax return and forward the tax proceeds to government along with the tax return. This is in contrast with a direct tax, collected directly from the persons on which it is usually imposed. For the U.S. constitutional law, the term bears another meaning. Here it means an Â"event" tax. Therefore, a transfer tax like a gift tax or an estate tax is treated like an indirect tax. In this sense even income tax laid on a person's income, like wages, is also considered an indirect tax. Tax is basically laid for four purposes. These are: Revenue, Redistribution, Repricing, and Representation. Revenue is the main purpose. The tax collected is used to build civil properties like roads, schools and hospitals, besides other civic amenities. The second purpose is redistribution. It refers to the transfer of wealth from the richer section of society to poorer one. This function is used in democracies. However, there has always been a controversy on it as to what extant shall it happen. Tax is also taken for the purpose of repricing. They are basically levied to address externalities. The last one is for representation. Tax is given to get accountability from the government, in the bargain. Therefore, tax is very important for a country's growth and therefore should be paid on time and properly.