Tax Day
It’s April 15th…and that means tax day.
Etched into the facade of the IRS Building at 1111 Constitution Avenue is a quote from former Justice of the Supreme Court, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr…
”Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society.”
Formed during the Civil War, the the Bureau of Internal Revenue was enacted to collect income taxes to help pay war expenses. At that time, a 3% federal tax was levied on all people earning an annual income of between $800 and $10,000 per year. Today, that income would equate to between $15,000 and $200,000. A 5% tax rate kicked in for the “rich”.
Today’s average Federal household income tax rate is closer to 21%.
The agency started using the name the Internal Revenue Service or IRS in 1929, but didn’t officially changed its name in 1953.
In 1900, the Federal tax burden stood at 1.3% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Today, it is over 20%.
And in 2006, the IRS collected $2.2 trillion ($2,200,000,000,000.00) in taxes.
I hope since 1862, we have in fact, become significantly more civilized.
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