An ad valorem tax (Latin for
"according to value") is a tax based on the value
of real estate or personal property. It is more
common than a specific tax, a tax based on the
quantity of an item, such as cents per kilogram,
regardless of price. It is levied on the basis of
value given by producers. So sometimes, the
primary difficulty with such taxation, especially
in the case of tariffs, is in establishing a
satisfactory value figure.