BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Tasmania 19
People
Tasmania is home to about 500,000
people. Most of them have British
ancestors. Most of the people live in the
southeast and the north. Hobart, in the
southeast, is the largest city and main
port. Launceston is the main city of
northern Tasmania.
Economy
Many Tasmanians work in services—for
example, communications, computer
work, and tourism. Manufacturing is
also important to the economy. Tasmania
has many resources to use in manufacturing.
Its forests provide wood for
the lumber and paper industries. Mines
provide iron, zinc, lead, copper, and tin,
which are used to make metal products.
In addition, Tasmania produces many
foods and drinks. Tasmanian farmers
grow potatoes, onions, peas, apples,
grapes, and hops. They raise dairy cows,
beef cattle, and sheep. The coastal waters
provide fish.
History
Tasmanian Aborigines, or the first
people in Tasmania, may have lived on
the island as early as 40,000 years ago.
The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman
reached the island in 1642. He named it
Van Diemen’s Land after the governorgeneral
of the Dutch East Indies (now
Indonesia). At that time several thousand
Tasmanian Aborigines lived on the
island. The last full-blooded Tasmanian
Aborigine died in 1876.
Tasmania became a part of the British
colony of New South Wales (in
southeastern Australia) in 1803. In
1825 it became a separate colony. Many
of the Europeans who lived there were
prisoners sent to the island from Great
Britain.
In 1856 the people of Van Diemen’s
Land elected their own government.
They changed the island’s name to
Tasmania, after the explorer Tasman. In
1901 Tasmania became a state of
Australia.
#More to explore
Australia • New SouthWales • Victoria
Tax
Governments can get money in various
ways. For example, they can charge fees
for such things as driver’s licenses. But
almost every government gets money
simply by demanding a certain amount
from its citizens. Money collected in this
way is called a tax.
Port Arthur was a prison settlement in Tasmania,
Australia, during the 1800s. Many
convicts were taken there to work as punishment
for their crimes. Today Port Arthur’s
buildings are in ruins. Many tourists visit
them.
Tasmania is
home to a
unique animal
called the
Tasmanian
devil. It was
named for its
fierce growl
and bad
temper.
20 Tax BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Purposes of Taxes
Governments collect taxes for several
purposes. The most important purpose
is to get money to pay for government
services. These services include protection
by an army or police, road building,
and public education. Some governments
use taxes to change people’s
behavior. For example, they may put
high taxes on tobacco to get people to
stop smoking. Finally, governments may
raise or lower taxes to help their country’s
overall economy.
Types of Taxes
There are many different types of taxes.
Among them are income taxes, property
taxes, and sales taxes.
A tax on the money that people make is
called a personal income tax. Companies
in the United States withhold, or hold
back, a part of almost every worker’s
pay. They send this money to the U.S.
government. After the end of the year,
people send in income tax returns,
which are forms that tell the government
how much money they made. Some
people then have to pay still more
money, while others get back some of
their money in a refund. Sometimes
governments make rich people pay
higher taxes than poor people. Companies
also pay taxes on the money they
make. This tax is called corporate
income tax.
Taxes on the value of land, buildings,
and some large possessions (cars, for
example) are called property taxes. In
the United States, state and local governments
collect property taxes.
When people buy goods and services,
they often pay a sales tax on top of the
price. Sales tax is usually a certain percentage
of the selling price. In the
United States, each state has its own
sales taxes. However, many countries
have national sales taxes. European
countries use a form of sales tax called a
value-added tax (VAT).
History
In ancient times, most people gave
goods or services to a ruler instead of
taxes. A farmer might give part of his
crop. An ancient Egyptian might help to
build a pyramid. However, the rulers of
ancient Rome collected taxes in the form
of money.
Taxes grew in importance over the
years, although people were often
unhappy when governments demanded
them. The colonists who started the
American Revolution in 1775 were
angry because they had to pay taxes to
Great Britain without having votes in
Parliament (the British legislature). An
unfair tax system was also one of the
Some taxes are used to build and to take
care of such public areas as parks and roads.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Tax 21
causes of the French Revolution, which
began in 1789.
In the 1900s some state governments in
the United States and governments of
other countries looked for ways to collect
money without raising taxes. Many
began using lotteries (gambling games)
to raise extra money.
#More to explore
Economics • Government • Money
Taylor, Zachary
A hero of the MexicanWar, Zachary
