alcavala

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: a Spanish sales tax charged on transfers of movable or immovable property, often at each successive sale

   Because the alcavala was collected whenever goods changed hands, it burdened trade at several stages.

Borrowed from Spanish alcabala, also historically alcavala, from Andalusian Arabic al-qabala ('the tax, duty'), related to Arabic qabala ('to receive'). The English spelling with v is well established in historical economic writing.

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