The Interesting History Of Income Tax

The Interesting History of Income Tax William J. Federer "The only things certain are death and taxes" - Benjamin Franklin Yet few know America's interesting history of Income Tax, such as: *1787 - U.S. Constitution prohibited a "direct" Federal tax *1862 - "Revenue Tax" on incomes went into effect to finance the Union during the Civil War *1895 - Supreme Court made Income Tax unconstitutional *Woodrow Wilson thought tariffs on imports caused wars, so he worked to replace them with an Income Tax. *1913 - Income Tax was only a 1% tax on the top 1% richest people in America. *1943 - Paycheck Withholding began as an emergency effort to get funds to finance WWII. John F. Kennedy - "Lower rates of taxation will stimulate economic activity and so raise the levels of personal and corporate income as to yield within a few years an increased flow of revenues to the Federal Government." (Annual Budget Message, Jan. 17, 1963) Thomas Jefferson - "It is an encouragement to proceed as we have begun in substituting economy for taxation" (2nd Annual Message, 1802) (176 pages, includes pictures)

Seligman, Edwin R.A. The Income Tax: A Study of the History, Theory, and Practice of Income Taxation at Home and Abroad. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged with a New Chapter. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1914. xi, 743 pp. Reprinted 2004 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 2003052763. ISBN 1-58477-385-5. Cloth. $140. * Reprint of second edition, which includes a new chapter on the income tax of 1913. Seligman [1861-1939], an eminent economist and authority on tax issues, argued that graduated income taxes distribute the burden of taxation with greater justice than other systems. This was a persuasive idea. "In fact, Professor Seligman's advocacy of the income tax in the various papers which were incorporated in [this book] was an important factor in educating the American public to the point where the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment and of the law of 1913 was possible": Columbia Law Review 15:292 cited in Marke, A Catalogue of the Law Collection at New York University (1953) 852. After he sets out the fundamental problem of the concept of income taxation, Seligman enhances his theoretical argument with a historical examination of income tax in Europe and the United States. In Part I he looks at the income tax in the middle ages, in England, Germany, France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. In Part II he covers the history of the income tax in the United States from the New England colonies through the income tax of 1913, and includes discussion of the historical antecedents of the Direct Tax Clause, a description of the historical context of the Civil War income tax and the income tax in the Confederacy, and a consideration of the constitutionality of the income tax. With a useful index and a thorough bibliography.

This classic book tells the story of the development of Income Tax from its beginning in 1799 to the present day and relates it to the social, economic and political history of the period. There have been studies of Income Tax at various stages in its growth; studies of finance and taxation in general in which Income Tax has been closely concerned; studies too of some of the Chancellors of the Exchequer who have made significant contributions to the Income Tax system; but this is the first time an attempt has been made to encompass the whole 160 years or so of its life in one volume. And a fascinating story it is too when set in perspective. The author shows how Income Tax was introduced to finance the Napoleonic Wars, how it was revived by Peel to pay for Free Trade, and how it underwrote Victorian prosperity and confidence. He then describes its immense expansion through two World Wars to its present position as a dominant feature of British finance. This book was first published in 1966.

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Excerpt from The Income Tax: A Study of the History, Theory and Practice of Income Taxation at Home and Abroad It may appear to some that too much attention has been paid to the historical side of the subject. It seemed to me, however, that the most important lesson to be learned from experience was the gradual transition in public sentiment from a position of uncompromising hostility to one of virtual acquiescence. Such a lesson, however, can be impressed only after a full and thorough presentation of the facts. This, apart from the inherent interest of the matter, must be my excuse for attempting an exhaustive statement, not only of the legislation and of the parliamentary history, but also of the scientific as well as of the more ephemeral literature of the topic, in the most important countries from which we have a lesson to learn. In this investigation, especially so far as England is concerned. Virtually no help was secured from any existing investigation, and I have therefore been compelled to make a pioneer study, with all its inevitable defects. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A book about tax history that’s a real page-turner? Give and Take is full of surprises. A Canadian millionaire who embraced the new federal income tax in 1917. A socialist hero who deplored the burden of big government. Most surprising, twentieth-century taxes have made us richer, in political engagement and more. Taxes make the power of the state obvious, and Canadians often resisted that power. But this is not simply a tale of tax rebels. Tillotson argues that Canadians also made real contributions to democracy when they taxed wisely and paid willingly.