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I've always wondered, why is the tax code called the "tax code" Is it written in English and how many lines is it?
by ryanlm 10y ago
I've always wondered, why is the tax code called the "tax code" Is it written in English and how many lines is it?
- artursapek 10y ago"Code" didn't originate to refer to computer code. See "code of conduct", etc.
- umanwizard 10y agoNot sure if you're a native English speaker, but anyway this usage is not specific to tax. All bodies of law can be called a "code". For example, the body of federal law in the U.S. is called the "United States Code". http://uscode.house.gov/ http://uscode.house.gov/
- ryanlm 10y agoYes, I'm a native.
- richardfontana 10y agoNot all bodies of law would be called a code. "Code" is, I think, always legislative in nature, and specifically indicates a codified or organized and self-contained body of law. For a good example of the difference, compare the United States Statutes at Large with the U.S. Code. I'm not sure if that distinction carries over into the civil law countries, but I'd think it would (in order to revise or add to the civil code, you'd have to enact various statutes). There's also the "model code" category in the US, where what you're codifying is typically common law principles distilled from court decisions, subject to some attempt at reform by the people involved in developing the model code.
- coldtea 10y agoCode just mean "a codified (formalized) set of rules". It's computer code that got it's name from legal code (back to the original latin word "codex" -- a list of laws).
- jaza 10y agoMany other areas of law are commonly referred to as a code, for example the "penal code" for criminal offenses. That said, you have a good point: no doubt the tax code is one of the least comprehensible (to laymen) parts of the law in most countries.