[ek-ses prof-its] 
| a tax on the profits of a business enterprise in excess of the average profits for a number of base years, or of a specified rate of return on capital. |
excess-profits tax
a tax levied on profits in excess of a stipulated standard of "normal" income. There are two principles governing the determination of excess profits. One, known as the war-profits principle, is designed to recapture wartime increases in income over normal peacetime profits of the taxpayer. The other, identified as the high-profits principle, is based on income in excess of some statutory rate of return on invested capital
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