Economy and Business Terms - Charlie, your teacher of English
Taxes: Taxes are generally an involuntary fee levied on individuals or corporations that is enforced
by a government entity, whether local, regional or national in order to finance government activities.
In economics, taxes fall on whomever pays the burden of the tax, whether this is the entity being
taxed, like a business, or the end consumers of the business's goods.
Term: 1. In the first case it is the lifespan assigned to an asset or a liability, over which the value of
the asset/liability is expected to either grow or shrink, depending on its nature. In the second case it
is the period of time assigned as the lifespan of any investment. In the case of debt, the time it takes
for all payments to be made by the borrower and received by the lender. In the case of an equity
investment, it is the time that elapses between the acquisition of the equity and its sale or removal
from holdings for another reason. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Trade: The voluntary exchange of goods and/or services for money or an equivalent good or
service. In ancient times and frequently even now, trade was conducted through the bartering of
goods. In developed economies, trades are usually made with an intermediary, especially money or
credit. Trade is regulated by laws of the particular jurisdiction in which a trade is made. Common
restrictions include prohibitions on selling stolen property or non-existent goods. In modern finance,
trade especially refers to trade on securities exchanges. For example, the sale of a stock from one
investor to another is known as a trade. This type of trade is regulated by special agencies in the
appropriate jurisdiction; trade in the United States is regulated by the SEC, among other
organizations
Trade Balance: The balance of trade (BOT) is the difference between a country's imports and its
exports for a given time period. The balance of trade is the largest component of the country's
balance of payments (BOP). Economists use the BOT as a statistical tool to help them understand
the relative strength of a country's economy versus other countries' economies and the flow of trade
between nations. The balance of trade is also referred to as the trade balance or the international
trade balance.
Trade Deficit: Trade deficit is an economic measure of a negative balance of trade in which a
country's imports exceeds its exports. A trade deficit represents an outflow of domestic currency to
foreign markets.
Trade Surplus: It is a trade surplus is an economic measure of a positive balance of trade, where a
country's exports exceed its imports. A trade surplus represents a net inflow of domestic currency
from foreign markets and is the opposite of a trade deficit, which represents a net outflow. Balancing
international trade is an important economic factor for a country; when a nation has a trade surplus,
its exports exceed its imports during a specified period of time.
Trough: A trough is the stage of the economy's business cycle that marks the end of a period of
declining business activity and the transition to expansion. In general, the business cycle is said to
go through expansion, then a peak, followed by contraction and then finally bottoming out with the
trough. It is also the lowest point in the economic cycle. The trough forms after a period of
contraction ends and before a period of expansion begins.
Turnover: The total sales of a company over a stated period. In business, revenue is the income
that a business has from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services
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