Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an
entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in
monetary terms.[1]
However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the
wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of
earnings received... in a given period of time."[2] For firms, income generally refers to net-profit: what remains of revenue after expenses have been subtracted.[3] In the field of public economics,
it may refer to the accumulation of both monetary and non-monetary
consumption ability, the former being used as a proxy for total income.[1]
