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French Expression of the Day: Le Fisc

Why do I need to know le Fisc ? Because you might have heard it mentioned in slightly ominous tones. What does it mean? Le Fisc – pronounced luh fisk - is a term used to reference the French institution in charge of levying taxes. It's a shorter, more casual version of the phrase l'administration fiscale (the fiscal administration). Often, it refers specifically to the Direction générale des Finances publiques which is the French public finances administration. Though it may look like a shortened version of the feminine noun ' fiscalité ' (which refers to the set of laws related to the tax collection system in France), le Fisc is a masculine noun with a different definition that refers specifically to the government body doing the tax collecting. Advertisement The closest English synonyms to this expression might be 'the taxman' or 'tax authorities.' The term le Fisc comes from the Latin word 'Fiscus' which means 'basket' and by extension went on to be used interchangeably for 'treasure' as well. In ancient Rome, the name for the public treasury was 'fiscus,' which is the root of the French terms le Fisc and fiscalité . Often, you'll see this word used in newspapers or by politicians when referencing matters related to the national budget and taxation. Use it like this Le Fisc va récupérer €10 millions de plus cette année dans les piscines non déclarées. – The taxman will recover more than €10 million in taxes this year due to undeclared swimming pools. Le Fisc a pris connaissance du fait que l'acteur omettait de déclarer une partie importante de ses revenus en France. Il sera probablement condamné à une amende. – The tax authorities have become aware of how the actor was failing to declare significant portions of his income in France. He will likely be fined. Il va être contrôlé par le fisc. Quelle horreur ! - He's going to be audited by the tax man. The horror!