# Tax Farming ## Definition The practice of leasing the right to collect taxes to private individuals or companies for a fixed rent, who then profit from any amount they collect above that rent, often leading to excessive and oppressive collection methods. ## Source Chapter Book V, Chapter 2 ## Context Smith criticizes tax farming as an inefficient and oppressive method of revenue collection that encourages corruption, excessive enforcement, and the extraction of profits by farmers at the expense of the public. ## Economic Domain General Theory ---