It seems that revenue and income have the same meaning. However, they seem to be used differently. What is the difference between them? When should we use one and not the other?
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1Welcome to ELU, Thanasis. We need more detail and context to effectively answer your question. What did the dictionary tell you? After you read the definitions, what was still unclear? Is there a particular context to your question, i.e. some real-world problem you're trying to solve?– MarthaªSep 28, 2012 at 15:29
2 Answers
My dictionary lists "revenue" and "income" as synonyms. But in practice, I think "revenue" is used to refer to the income of organizations, especially governments. I've never heard someone say, "My new job gives me an annual revenue of X dollars", they always say, "... an annual income ..." When we're talking about a government, we usually say "revenue" rather than "income". When we're talking about a business, we may use either one.
Perhaps -- and I don't have a source for this, it's just a theory I'm proposing based on the usage that I've heard -- "income" tends to be used when we're talking about money you make by working, while "revenue" is used for money received by other than direct work, like taxation, return from investments, etc.
Both describe money received by organisations and individuals, but they are used in different contexts. In particular, revenue is the money governments receive as tax. Individuals, on the whole, receive income.
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