What is the difference between direct taxes and indirect taxes?

Rachal Osaki: Direct tax - paid directly to the GovtIndirect tax - paid on the items.

Alonso Crehan: Direct taxes are paid directly to the government but indirect are the ones charged on items ie V.A.T - value added tax

Lavelle Viveiros: none in reality they both get your money.they should be the same world wide.a direct tax is quite evident such as income tax.an indirect tax is hidden and called such things as levy, excise, stamp duty, etc etc

Tomi Vauters: The basic distinction between the two is Direct Tax is the tax which is levied directly on one's income or wealth, i.e. what one earns/owns. On the other hand, Indirect taxes are mainly consumption-based taxes. For e.g. Service tax/ Excise etc have to be collected by the manufacturer/service provider but they are ultimately borne by the customer who purchases the goods or avails services. Manufacturer/service providers are just agents of the government since they collect taxes on behalf of the gove! rnment and that's the reason they are called 'Indirect Taxes'. Direct taxes such as Income Tax, Wealth Tax etc are directly paid by the assessee to the account of government....Show more