1. a tax levied on the difference between a commodity's price before taxes and its cost of production; [syn: VAT, value-added tax, ad valorem tax]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
ad valorem tax
n 1: a tax levied on the difference between a commodity's price
before taxes and its cost of production [syn: VAT,
value-added tax, ad valorem tax]