taxman

plural taxmen · alternative obsolete tacksman

1. derogatorysometimesA tax collector.

   Andrew Houſtoun and Adam Muſhet, being Tackſmen of the Excize, did Imploy Thomas Rue to be their Collector, and gave him a Sallary of 30. pound Sterling for a year.

   1668 July 3rd, James Dalrymple, “Thomas Rue contra Andrew Houſtoun” in The Deciſions of the Lords of Council & Seſſion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 547

2. derogatorysometimesA tax-collecting organ, personified.

   The taxman’s taken all my dough. Left me in my stately home.

   1966, The Kinks, Sunny Afternoon

   3 more examples

   ... a duty even more dreaded: to pay taxes. The taxman is primarily interested in those strong enough to create and lucky enough to sell.

   1978, The Estates, Gifts and Trusts Journal

   The taxman is an especially hated presence. 'Let's just say that certain elements around these parts could live without their company,' observes one ...

   2013, Tom Parker Bowles, The Year of Eating Dangerously: A Global Adventure in Search of Culinary Extremes, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN

   The G8 leaders also called on multinationals to make a full disclosure to the taxman over how much tax they pay in different countries.

   2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 27 Oct 2020, page 68