Among the new slang of Gen Z and Gen Alpha is “fanum tax” and there’s no way you can tell just by looking at the words, what it might mean. However, here’s this article to the rescue, covering everything you need to know.
We’ll explain what it means, go through the origin story, and explain how to use the phrase, through the aid of a few handy examples for context. Let’s get straight to it!
What’s the meaning of the slang term “fanum tax”?
Simply put, the slang term “fanum tax” refers to the polite theft of a portion of food between friends and family. It refers to the concept that if someone has food in a group setting, they are obligated to share a portion of it with the others - even if they don’t want to. It’s kinda an unspoken rule, and it replaces the “sharing is caring” remark that people often say when they do the same thing.
What’s the origin story of the slang term “fanum tax”?
The slang term “fanum tax” was coined by a famous American content streamer called Fanum (real name Roberto Pena). He’s a member of the crew for fellow streamer and influencer Kai Cenat, AMP.
On his videos Fanum began jokingly “tax” other members of the AMP crew under the unspoken rule that when someone has food in a group setting, they are obligated to share it. He would simply start taking bites of his friends’ foods as they were eating while live streaming. As this trend began to go viral, snatching food from your friends in this way came to be known as “fanum tax”. This was in 2022.
Fanum once discussed this in an interview where he said: “People confuse it like you got to take food from your friend, but I’m just saying, feed your friend, bro. Sometimes 5%, sometimes 10…That’s pretty much the tax. Feed your peoples, bro.”
How you can use the slang term “fanum tax” - featuring examples
There are many ways that you can use the slang term “fanum tax” in conversation.
- I took bros food, he should have been prepared for that fanum tax.
- Your fanum tax is now 20%! Gonna get me a piece of pizza.
- *While pinching someone’s chips* Fanum tax. You owe us all.
Final word
So, to summarise, the slang term “fanum tax” refers to the theft or sharing of a portion of food among friends and family. It refers to the concept that whenever someone has food in a group setting, they are obligated to share at least a portion of it with the others.
The phrase became famous, thanks to the streamer Fanum, who’s part of the AMP crew, when Fanum began taking small bites of his friends’ food whenever they got together. This went viral in 2022, but it’s still struggling to become mainstream, due in part to many incorrect entries for the word on the online Urban Dictionary.
