taux

Taux is a French noun that denotes a measure expressing the relationship between two quantities. It can refer to a proportion, an intensity level, or a fee, and is widely used across economics, finance, statistics, and public policy. In daily language, the word is often encountered in phrases such as taux d'intérêt (interest rate), taux de change (exchange rate), taux d'inflation (inflation rate), taux de chômage (unemployment rate), and taux d'imposition (tax rate). The term can be expressed as a percentage, for example a taux d'inflation de 2,5%, but it can also appear as a plain ratio without an explicit percent sign, such as a high or low taux de réussite (success rate).

In taxation and government finance, taux refers to the level at which charges are imposed, such as the taux de TVA (value-added tax rate) or other statutory rates. In human resources or labor markets, taux horaire denotes the wage per hour. In statistics and demography, taux describes rates such as natalité (birth rate) or mortalité (mortality rate), typically measured per unit of time or per population.

Formally, a taux is the quotient of two quantities and can often be converted to a percentage by multiplying by 100. While the terms taux and pourcentage are related, they are not always interchangeable: taux expresses the underlying ratio or level, and pourcentage is the explicit representation of that value as a percent. The word is masculine: le taux; the plural is les taux.

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