A tax on gifts between the living (or inter vivos). This is contrasted with a tax on transfers of wealth by inheritance. A gift tax is designed to counter the loss of revenue from inheritance taxes through people transferring their wealth to their relatives or friends while still alive. A gift tax normally contains some exemptions, for example a certain sum per annum. It may be progressive, either on the sum given by any one donor to a particular beneficiary, on the total sum transferred, or on the total received in gifts and bequests by a single beneficiary.