### Clue: Removes tax up to a point (7)
### Answer: EXCISES 
 ### Explanation: Definition: Removes
 EXCISE(a tax on certain goods and commodities sold in a country) **plus**(up to – but "up" would suggest a reversal in a down clue) S(abbrev. for "south", a compass point).
Defn: … by cutting off, often surgically.