This chapter of "Principles of School Business Management" provides a basic understanding of the mechanics of the various taxes used to raise money for education, the extent to which these taxes are utilized, the way they interrelate, and the criteria that can be used when judging their relative advantages and disadvantages. The chapter opens with a discussion of the specialized concepts associated with the field of taxation, introducing new terminology and the technical considerations underlying current tax issues. The chapter then describes each major tax in some detail. These taxes include income taxes, sales taxes, local property taxes, and various minor taxes. Special attention is paid to property taxes because of their importance in school finance. The next part of the chapter reviews the criteria used for judging the value and suitability of taxes, including their relationship to ability to pay, their equality of impact, the benefits they provide, their costs, their stability as sources of revenue, and their effects on human behavior. Tax trends affecting the late 1980s are reviewed in the final portion of the chapter. A table presenting the relative tax effort in the 50 states is provided for selected years from 1967 through 1981. Thirty-four footnotes cite references or provide supplementary information. (PGD)