Tax policy directorate – Bureau a

GLOSSARY 
Allowance 
Lump sum deducted from the tax base. 
Private deed 
Written document drawn up by a private individual bearing the 
handwritten signature of the parties. 
Share (action) 
Transferable security issued by a joint-stock corporation 
representing a portion of its capital. 
Base (Tax base) 
Set of rules or operations designed to determine the elements 
(profit, turnover, etc.) liable to tax. 
Element to which a rate is applied in order to calculate a tax. 
Liable person 
Person liable to a tax.
Notice of assessment 
Administrative document stating the elements used as the 
base for calculating the tax, the amount of tax to be paid, the 
terms of payment and the payment date. 
Non-taxation or non-collection 
notice 
Administrative document sent to the taxpayer stating that there 
is no tax to pay. 
Budget 
Set of laws providing for and authorising the State's annual 
revenue and expenditure. 
Set of accounts recording all the State's revenues and 
expenditures in a calendar year. 
Set of accounts recording a ministry's appropriations in a 
calendar year. 
Scope 
All assets, activities, situations and operations covered by a tax 
measure and the limits of the measure in space and time. 
Taxpayer 
Person directly liable to the payment of taxes and duties, the 
collection of which is authorised by law. 
Tax credit 
Claim that may be set off against a tax. 
Reduction 
Method for reducing the theoretical amount of tax payable. 
Deduction 
Amount deducted from gross profit or income. 
Tax domicile 
Persons are deemed to be domiciled in France for tax 
purposes when they are in at least one of the following four 
situations: 
. their home is in France; 
. their main place of abode is in France; 
. they carry on a business activity in France that is not 
incidental; 
. the centre of their economic interests is in France. 
Civil servants on duty or on assignment in a foreign country 
where they are not liable to personal taxation on their total 
income are also deemed to be domiciled in France for tax 
purposes. 

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Collection
[CM1]
Payment received in cash and, by extension, payment 
received by cheque, bank transfer or bank deposit.
Liability 
Right that the Treasury may assert from a certain date in order 
to obtain payment of tax due from the debtor. 
Exemption 
Release from a tax obligation under certain conditions 
determined by law. 
Taxable event 
Event whereby the legal conditions for liability to tax or duty are 
fulfilled. 
Tax household 
The place where a taxpayer usually lives, i.e. the usual home, 
provided that the home (in France) is permanent. 
The tax household is also the basic family entity for income tax 
purposes. 
Dispensation 
Technique whereby tax is not collected when the theoretical 
amount of tax payable or turnover does not reach a minimum 
figure. 
Taxable 
Term that describes a person who by his/her activity, or a 
transaction which by its nature, falls within the scope of a tax. 
Assessment 
Calculation of tax by applying a rate or scale to the tax base. 
Furniture 
Items used to decorate and furnish a dwelling. 
Bond 
Interest-bearing transferable debt security issued by a 
company or public authority in return for a loan. 
Assets 
All the property belonging to an individual or legal entity. 
Legal entity 
Entity with a distinct existence and standing in law. 
Time bar 
Time limit beyond which legal action may no longer be taken. 
Income splitting 
System whereby income tax is made proportional to the 
number of persons forming the tax household. It consists in 
dividing the tax household's taxable income by the number of 
"parts", which in turn depends on each taxpayer's situation and 
the number of persons deemed to be dependent on them for 
tax purposes. 
Collection 
The process by which a tax debt becomes certain on a given 
date. 
Taxable person 
Person responsible for paying a tax. 
Deduction 
Amount deducted from gross profit or income. 
Main home 
Place where the taxpayer usually lives. 
Assessment roll 
List of taxpayers indicating the amount of tax they have to pay. 
Rental value 
Rent that real property would generate if it were let. A 
distinction is made between notional rental value, set by the 
authorities when premises are completed or on regular 
updates, and actual rental value, which corresponds to the 
market price. 

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DIRECTION GÉNÉRALE DES FINANCES PUBLIQUES (PUBLIC FINANCES DIRECTORATE GENERAL) 
TAX POLICY DIRECTORATE – Bureau A –