Why was the first U.S. Income Tax implemented?

gtho4

To finance the Civil War. Congress first levied a temporary income tax in 1861 to help pay for the Civil War. It was repealed in 1872, but the 1880s and 1890s saw a surge in popular support for a national income tax. As the "Robber Barons" and their corporations became richer, reform parties such as the Greenbacks, Anti-Monopolists, and Progressives made the income tax part of their party platforms. In 1894, Congress revived the tax, but a year later the Supreme Court struck it down, ruling that the Constitution required direct taxes to be levied in proportion to a state's population. According to the Court, the Constitution did not allow Congress to tax a percentage of an individual's income. Not long after, Congress passed an amendment to change the Constitution in 1909. Ratified by the states in 1913, the 16th Amendment gave Congress the "power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." http://www.newsweekeducation.com/historyconnections/hc_2006_04.php http://www.newsweekeducation.com/historyconnections/hc_2006_04.php">http://www.newsweekeducation.com/historyconnections/hc_2006_04.php May 23 06, 8:19 AM

darkpresence

Similarly, the first income tax in Britian was levied to finance the Napoleonic wars. Hmmm, a theme is emerging.... May 24 06, 7:35 PM

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Who was the first US president to file income tax? What Country was the first to impose a general Income Tax, and why? How was April 15 designated as income tax day? Why did it require an amendment to the U.S. constitution to establish a federal income tax, but not to establish a federal social security tax or federal Medicare tax? Why did it require an amendment to the U.S. constitution to outlaw alcohol on the federal level, but not later to outlaw other drugs (marijuana, cocaine, etc.) on the federal level?

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