Tariffs were the largest source of federal revenue from the 1790s to the eve of World War I, until they were surpassed by income taxes.
The first federal statutes imposing the legal obligation to pay a federal income tax were adopted by Congress in 1861 and 1862 to pay for the Civil War. This income tax was repealed in 1872, but a new income tax statute was enacted as part of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act in 1894.
The United States Constitution specified Congress could impose a direct tax only if it was apportioned among the states according to each state's census population. In its 1895 decision the Supreme Court held in the case of Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. that a tax on income from property (a tax on interest, dividends or rent) was a direct tax under the Constitution, and so had to be apportioned.
The apportionment requirement made income taxes on property practically impossible, and Congress did not want to limit the income tax solely to a tax on wages.
Pages and Listings are in reverse chronological order:
News Millionaires Back Buffett Tax If Theyre Exempt
01-19-2012
Bloomberg
Millionaires support Warren Buffetts view that the wealthiest should pay more in taxes, as long as its other rich Americans, according to a survey released today.
News Excellent Video on the Tax-the-Rich Mentality.flv
01-19-2012
youtube (h/t Lew Rockwell blog)
We have a spending problem in America. This video clarifies the magnitude of just how much we spend, IN JUST ONE YEAR!!
News Taxpayers owe $385 billion in 2006 taxes: IRS
01-08-2012
Reuters
U.S. taxpayers owe an estimated $385 billion in unpaid taxes for 2006, up about a third from the "tax gap" five years before, the Internal Revenue Service said. Despite the wider shortfall voluntary compliance remained steady at 83% for both years,
News New U.S. tactic for suspected Swiss bank tax cheats
12-28-2011
Reuters
U.S. authorities hunting in Swiss banks for suspected tax cheats have a new weapon in their arsenal: an arcane but aggressive legal maneuver more commonly used against drug smugglers, money launderers and Imelda Marcos, widow of the Philippine dictat
News The IRS & DOJ Are Grabbing New Powers In The Hunt For Revenue
12-26-2011
Business Insider
A federal district court judge has given the IRS permission to serve a John Doe summons on the California State Board of Equalization demanding the names of residents who transferred property to their children or grandchildren for little or no mone
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News House Republicans Cave on Payroll Tax Cuts Extension
12-22-2011
ABC News (video)
A muted House Speaker John Boehner announced today that Republicans have decided to accept a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut, preventing a hike in taxes just nine days before the tax break expires for 160 million Americans.
News Chevy Volt Costing Taxpayers Up to $250K Per Vehicle
12-21-2011
Michigan Capitol Confidential
Each Chevy Volt sold thus far may have as much as $250,000 in state and federal dollars in incentives behind it a total of $3 billion altogether, according to an analysis by James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center f
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News Two More Things 2012 Will Bring
12-20-2011
Lew Rockwell blog
Capital will flee the U.S. more quickly as this and other taxes rise in the future to pay for government spending. It's as if Uncle Sam didn't want us to invest in stocks and business. He'd rather we buy his bonds at a paltry 2% and take a loss due
News U.S. lawmakers to vote on holiday tax Tuesday
12-19-2011
The Raw Story
Republican lawmakers escalated a year-end showdown with the White House, putting off a vote on extending a payroll tax holiday demanded by President Barack Obama until Tuesday.
News Germany tax levy on Belgian Nazi slave labourers provokes fury
11-21-2011
www.telegraph.co.uk
A decision by Germany to levy a tax on pensions received by Belgians who were slave labourers for the Nazi regime during the Second World War has provoked fury among survivors.
News Tax evasion law "could cost big banks $100 million"
11-18-2011
Reuters
A U.S. law aimed at curbing tax evasion by citizens using foreign accounts could cost large multinational banks as much as $100 million apiece to implement in one-off systems costs, a top asset manager and a tax lawyer told a conference on Friday.
News GOP tax plan gives party an identity crisis
11-16-2011
Washington Post
Growing Republican support for raising taxes to help reduce the deficit has prompted a GOP identity crisis, sparking a clash within the party over whether to abandon its bedrock anti-tax doctrine.
Tensions have mounted in recent days as two of the
Headlines: GOP tax plan gives party an identity crisis -- Tax evasion law "could cost big banks $100 million" -- Germany tax levy on Belgian Nazi slave labourers provokes fury -- Taxation by Citation -- U.S. lawmakers to vote on holiday tax Tuesday -- Two More Things 2012 Will Bring -- Chevy Volt Costing Taxpayers Up to $250K Per Vehicle -- House Republicans Cave on Payroll Tax Cuts Extension -- The IRS & DOJ Are Grabbing New Powers In The Hunt For Revenue -- New U.S. tactic for suspected Swiss bank tax cheats -- Taxpayers owe $385 billion in 2006 taxes: IRS -- Excellent Video on the Tax-the-Rich Mentality.flv -- Millionaires Back Buffett Tax If Theyre Exempt --
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