April 16, 2019 was an important day for many of us. But do you know why? It was Tax Freedom Day — the day when the average American theoretically earned enough to pay his or her tax obligations for the year. According to the Tax Foundation, Americans will pay $3.4 billion in federal taxes in 2019, more than they spend on food, clothing, and housing combined.* But it wasn’t always this way. In fact, income taxes are a fairly new development in the overall history of America. So how did we get to this point?
In the beginning…
The United States was founded, in part, on the premise that colonists didn’t want to pay taxes without representation, which led to the famous tossing of tea into the Boston Harbor and the American Revolution. However, not long after the colonies gained their freedom from England, Congress passed the Stamp Act of 1797, which essentially was our nation’s first estate tax. Otherwise, from the early 1790s to 1802, the U.S. government was supported by taxes on such items as spirits (alcohol, not the ghostly kind), sugar, tobacco, and corporate bonds.
Wars played a big part in the history of taxation in this country. To fund the War of 1812, Congress taxed sales of gold, silverware, jewelry, and watches. In 1817, tariffs on imported goods provided the main source of revenue to run the government.
With the onset of the Civil War, Congress enacted the nation’s first income tax law, the Revenue Act of 1861, which included a flat tax of 3% on annual incomes exceeding $800 to help pay for the costs of the war. That tax law was repealed and replaced by the Revenue Act of 1862, which established the Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (forerunner to the Internal Revenue Service), levied excise taxes on most goods and services, and replaced the flat tax with a progressive tax.
The 16th Amendment
However, it was not until 1913 with the adoption of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, that the income tax became a permanent fixture in the American tax system. Congress now had the authority to tax income of both individuals and corporations. It didn’t take the IRS long to start inundating us with forms, beginning in 1914 with the introduction of the first income tax form, the dreaded Form 1040. Enactment of the Revenue Act of 1916 introduced tax rates and income scales.
Tax rates
Here’s a sobering fact: In 1913, the top federal income tax bracket was 7% on all income over $500,000, and the lowest tax bracket was 1%. During the Great Depression, Congress raised the highest tax bracket to 63%. Wars can be expensive, as evidenced by the jump in the highest tax rate to 94% during World War II. In 2018, the highest income tax rate was lowered to 37%.
Trying to get it right
Over the years, there have been frequent attempts to reform the tax law in some manner. We’ve seen the adoption of the alternative minimum tax, Social Security tax, taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, gasoline taxes, aviation taxes, property taxes, telecommunication taxes, not to mention state and local taxes. To quote Will Rogers, “The difference between death and taxes is death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.”
Tax laws are always changing and will likely remain a political hot potato. Only time will tell what changes are ahead, but there is no doubt that through taxation, what the government giveth, it inevitably taketh back again.
*Tax Freedom Day 2019 was April 16, as calculated by the Tax Foundation, taxfoundation.org.
The tax information provided is not intended to be a substitute for specific, individualized tax planning advice. We suggest that you consult with a qualified tax advisor.
Content prepared by Broadridge Advisor Solutions, Copyright 2019
