If an american citizen travels to france, does he need to pay taxes when he goes in?

i know when my american sisters travelled to chile, they had to pay a tax when they went in. (it was roughly $100) which can be paid at customs or the chilean consulate office.

what countries require an american to pay a tax, and where can i find legal confirmation?

I experienced the same thing to/from the DR. I've not experieced surprise taxes/fees for entry/exit in Europe, however. Govt. fees and taxes are collected by the airline, meaning they're included in the ticket price. For country-by-country summary of entry requirements and any additional fees to expect, see http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations/plan_flight/international_travel_information/visa_passport_information/index.jsp

Certain goods may be taxed if you are planning to give or sell those items in the country, for example bringing five laptops into France that you plan on selling. You might also have to pay duty on items like cigarettes or tobacco if you're over the duty-free limit, these type of restrictions apply to most countries in the world. In some countries you may have to pay a fee for a visa on arrival. An American does not have to pay any fees or taxes unless you're over the duty-free limit on certain goods, bringing restricted goods, more than a reasonable amount of gifts or items for resale, nor does an American need to pay any visa fees. Otherwise, an American traveling to France without any dutiable or restricted goods won't have to pay a dime (or Euro). I've been to France 6 times and have never paid anything.

http://www.traveldocs.com/fr/customs.htm

A tax may be paid, when you bring in goods to a country, which exceeds the value of regular tourists usually taking with. In France, you will definately not be faced with that problem, having just regularly tourist items with you.

Some countries do have an entry and exit tax and nationality (eg American) has nothing to do with it.

But France does not impose a tax. In fact I don't know of any EU country that does.

I went to France and did not have to pay anything when I got there but when I bought the plane ticket I had to pay taxes and port fees included in the price.