The History of Income Tax

They say death and taxes are the only two certain things in life. Alas, this wasn’t always the case. Well, at least for the income tax.

Our great nation came into existence in fits and starts. Following the revolt against the British, a federal government was elected and the fun began. This “fun” inevitably led to the situation where not everyone could agree on what the United States should stand for, much less what laws should be enacted. As a result, there was no federal income tax for nearly 100 years. Ah, the good ole days!

fit = kb. 1 serangan tiba-tiba. 2 pas. -ks. 1 pantas, patut, layak. 2 sehat. 3 dapat, siap. 4 baik. -kk. to see f. memutuskan. -kkt. (fit atau fitted) 1 cocok dengan. 2 mencocokkan / menyusun kembali. 3 menjadikan. fitings kb., j. benda-benda, perabot.
revolt = kb. pemberontakan. -kki. 1 memberontak (against terhadap). 2 berrevolusi. 3 bangkit (against menentang). -revolting ks. memuakkan, menjijikkan.
inevitable = ks. tak dapat dielakkan/dihindarkan. -inevitably kk. yang tak terelakkan, pasti jadi.
led = lead = kb. timah. l. pencil potlot. lead-colored ks. lebam(-hitam), kelam(-lebam). Inf.: lead-pipe cinch a) kepastian, hal yang sudah pasti. b) gampang mudah.
enact = kkt. 1 membuat, menjadikan. to e. a law menjadikan undang-undang, mengundangkan. 2 memainkan, memerankan. to e. a role (in a play, film) memainkan peranan.

If there was no income tax during this period, you are probably wondering how the government functioned. It did so by collecting use and sales taxes. Taxes were charged on liquor, tobacco and imports to mention just a few. Many people in our modern society would like to return to just such a system.

liquor = kb. minuman keras. 2 cairan (of pickles).
mention = kb. sebutan. honorable m. sebutan terhormat. -kkt. 1 menyebutkan. 2 mengatakan. not to m. belum lagi.

Contrary to popular notions, the first income tax was not put into law in the early 1900’s. In fact, the first President to institute an income tax was Abraham Lincoln. In 1861, President Lincoln and Congress passed an income tax law to assist with funding the Civil War with the south. When the war came to an end, the tax was phased out. Imagine a tax being phased out now? That should bring a tear of laughter to your eye.

contrary = kb. kebalikan. -ks. 1 suka membantah/berlawanan/menentang. 2 bertentangan. 3 berlawanan.
notion = kb. 1 dugaan. 2 ide, gagasan. 3 pikiran. 4 pikiran, maksud. -nations j. barang kelontong.
institute = kb. institut, lembaga. -kkt. mengadakan (law, investigation). a newly instituted post sebuah jabatan yang baru diadakan.
phase = kb. 1 tahap. new p. tahap baru. 2 bentuk (of the moon). 3 Elec.: keadaan perubahan aliran. -kkt. membuat bertahap-tahap. to p. out menghapuskan setahap demi setahap.
tear = kb. air mata. -kki. berlinang. tear-stained ks. dibasahi.

The income tax as we know it was first instituted in 1913. Congress passed a law establishing a graduated tax rate of one to seven percent on all income taxes. I can say honestly and truthfully that I would kill to pay one percent in taxes these days. Heck, I am willing to take on the burden of paying seven percent!

heck =kb. to give s.o. h. mengomeli seseorang. -kseru persetan, buset.
burden = kb. 1 beban. 2 pokok. -kkt. menyusahkan.

In establishing the income tax system, the Constitution was amended to add a 16th Amendment. This Amendment gave the federal government the right to collect taxes. The politicians primarily responsible for this were President Roosevelt and President Taft. I mention two Presidents because the bitter debate over the subject took some time to work out.

bitter = ks. 1 pahit. 2 tidak enak. 3 sengit. 4 dingin. -bitters j. sesuatu yang memberikan rasa pada minuman keras, minuman pahit. -bitterly kk. 1 dengan sengit. 2 sekali.

If you’re looking to blame a particular political party, Presidents Roosevelt and Taft were both Republicans. Of course, the Democrats haven’t exactly made much of an effort to repeal the tax, so both parties deserve a whack upside the head in my opinion. Nonetheless, this is how we came to be burdened by the income tax in the United States.

blame = kb. kesalahan. -kkt. menyalahkan. -blamed ks. Inf.: jahanam, terkutuk.
repeal = kb. pencabutan (of a law). -kkt. mencabut (a law).
deserve = kkt. 1 berhak mendapat. 2 pantas, patut menerima.-deserved ks. well-d. honor penghargaan yang selayaknya (diperoleh).-deservedly kk. sdh sepatutnya.-deserving ks.1 yg pantas di tolong.2 yg berjasa.
WHACK = kb. pukulan keras. Sl.: to have/ take a w. at mencoba. -kkt. memukul. -whacking Inf.: ks. amat besar.
UPSIDE = kk. u. down terbalik. to turn a room u. down membolak-balik seluruh isi kamar. to turn a pillow u. down membalikkan bantal.

http://www.businesstaxrecovery.com/history_income_tax