Tax collector

A tax collector is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations. Tax collectors are often portrayed in fiction as being evil, and in the modern world share a somewhat similar stereotype to that of lawyers.

Tax collectors in the Bible

Tax collectors, also known as publicans, are mentioned many times in the Bible (mainly in the New Testament). They are generally described as being greedy, and taking more money than they are entitled to. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus sympathises with the tax collector Zacchaeus, causing outrage from the crowds that Jesus would rather be the guest of a sinner than that of a peaceful Jew.

Modern tax collection agencies

National tax collection agencies include the Canada Revenue Agency, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States, or Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK.

Notable tax collectors

Biblical

Matthew the Evangelist
Zacchaeus

Historical

Simon Affleck
Jacob Gaón

Translation of "Tax collector"

Dutch: Tollenaar, Norwegian (Bokmål): Kemner.