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Glite Dictionary
to undertax

to undertax

7.4
Make people or companies pay less money to the government than they should
  • verb
  • /ˌʌndərˈtæks/
  • Specialized
translation icon : subimponer
  • Stop undertaxing the rich.

Examples

  • Critics claim the state tends to undertax the affluent, creating inequality in the tax system.

  • The government decided to undertax wealthy corporations to boost the economy.

  • Some argue that if we continue to undertax high earners, essential services will suffer.

Antonyms

to overtax
1 7.2

Make people or businesses pay too much money to the government

How Taxed

to overtax
1 7.2
to tax
150 1.9
to undertax
  • Specialized
7.4

Surface Forms

undertax infinitive
undertaxed past
undertaxed past participle
undertaxing present participle
undertaxes third person singular

Morphology

undertax = tax (transparent) = under + tax

Formed by productive prefix 'under-' meaning 'insufficiently' + the verb 'tax', so the meaning 'to tax insufficiently' is directly derivable.

Etymology

The word undertax is formed from under ('below' or 'not enough') and tax ('a charge by the government'). So to undertax someone or something is to put the tax 'below the fair or required level', which is why it means to tax at too low a rate.