Excise tax, sometimes called an excise duty, is a type of tax charged on goods produced within the country (as opposed to customs duties, charged on goods from outside the country).
Excise tax in the United States
An excise is "a tax upon manufacture, sale or for a business license or charter," according to Law.com's Legal Dictionary, and is to be distinguished from a tax on real property, income or estates."In the United States, the term excise means: (A) any tax other than a property tax or capitation (i.e., an indirect tax, or excise, in the constitutional law sense), or (B) a tax that is simply called an excise in the language of the statute imposing that tax (an excise in the statutory law sense, sometimes called a miscellaneous excise). An excise under definition (A) is not necessarily the same as an excise under definition (B).Example: The Whiskey Tax that resulted in the Whiskey Rebellion which started in 1792.
Her Majesty's Customs and Excise
Her Majesty's Customs and Exc
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excise