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Does anyone recall the income tax rate in the 50s, 60s, or 70s? (Vanity)
15 Dec 2022 | Me

Posted on 12/15/2022 1:00:32 PM PST by amorphous

Below is an income tax table I found online. It's kind of shocking. I'm starting to distrust online sources - wondering if anyone on Free Republic would be able to verify its accuracy:



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government
KEYWORDS: goodolddays; irs; tax; vanity
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To: amorphous

As a Marine, in 1951, I didn’t make enough to have to even be aware of the tax levels left over from WWII...


21 posted on 12/15/2022 1:16:13 PM PST by SuperLuminal (Where is the next Sam Adams when we so desperatly need him)
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To: Vision

Vision: John Wayne had to make movies like crazy as he was in the top bracket and had alimony and such.

John Waynes divorce court transcripts are online. Guy was a horndog. Bedded the ladies as best as anyone. Gary Cooper. yes Sgt York would go to orgies on a regular basis.
Media and the film studios kept their private lives secret back then.


22 posted on 12/15/2022 1:18:42 PM PST by natalie227
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To: amorphous

ROFLOL.
91% income tax.

So if we used these tax rates and you made 200K per year.....
You kept 18K and the Feds got 182K
Then you owe 7%-15% state tax in most states, which means you owe another 15-30K to the State.
Then there is city tax, which is a few percent, so likely another 5K.

Therefore, using 1951 Federal and Modern State Tax, if you made 200k per year you would owe 235K to State, City, and Federal Taxes. That means your -35K for working. That doesn’t include sales, gas, property taxes, licence taxes, ect. It’s slavery, not taxes.

Reminds me of song from along time ago, “You move 16 tons and what do you get, another day older and deeper in dept”.


23 posted on 12/15/2022 1:20:44 PM PST by Pete Dovgan
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To: amorphous
Comprehensive, year by year breakdown so you can see all the changes. For real fun adjust the 1913 brackets for inflation…

Tax brackets

24 posted on 12/15/2022 1:21:21 PM PST by Gunslingr3
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To: Vision
Reagan postponed making movies each year to the next year after he got to the top bracket. IIRC, at the top tax bracket about half went to the federal govt and almost the other half went to the state of California, thus he had no financial incentive to make more money.

He said it was his wake up call to believe in what we today call the Laffer Curve.

25 posted on 12/15/2022 1:23:25 PM PST by Tell It Right (1st Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: amorphous

It’s not as bad as it looks. There were WAAAY more deductions. You could even deduct interest on credit cards.


26 posted on 12/15/2022 1:24:44 PM PST by axxmann (If McCain is conservative then I'm a freakin' anarchist.)
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To: amorphous

I do remember that my Dad, a farmer, referred to the IRS as ‘those robbers.’

He did pay his taxes. He also had a book on the end table by his TV chair, “How to avoid probate”. He and Mom did do that. Set up a trust. Gifted us kids $ over the years, under tax limits, transferred property at low land value times to benefit us all.

Worked diligently all his life. Passed that ‘work ethic’ to us.

Thanks DAD.


27 posted on 12/15/2022 1:24:55 PM PST by Scrambler Bob (My /s is more true than your /science (or you might mean /seance))
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To: Pete Dovgan

Not how tax brackets work. Your first $2,000 was taxed at 20%, and then the rate graduated with the income, each rate is applied only to the marginal income in that bracket. The $150,001 dollar you earned would be taxed at 90% up to the next bracket. Everything you claimed as adjusted gross income over $200,000 was taxed at 91%. As mentioned by others, people utilized tax shelters and tax free investments to get around these taxes. Effective marginal tax rates on income over $200,000 wasn’t half of the actual rate.


28 posted on 12/15/2022 1:25:29 PM PST by Gunslingr3
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To: amorphous
Search "Form 1040 Instructions"

1040 prior-year-forms-and-instructions

29 posted on 12/15/2022 1:28:14 PM PST by Pete from Shawnee Mission ( )
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To: Codeflier

For decades, high income tax rates were ameliorated by exemptions, allowances, credits, and such. Although nominal tax rates were high, the average effective tax rate was considerably lower.


30 posted on 12/15/2022 1:32:17 PM PST by Rockingham
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To: EEGator; All
Despite the tragedy of the Civil War conflict, one positive outcome was ratification of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. However, less than 50 years later, Congress reinstated slavery through the ratification of the 16th Amendment, which imposed a tax on income.

I appreciate everyone's reply. I find it strange those years are looked upon as "the good old days." But then our money was as 'good as gold', actually tied to the price of gold and the budget was balanced compared to our deficit spending today.

31 posted on 12/15/2022 1:33:14 PM PST by amorphous
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To: amorphous

I became a Journeyman Union Pipefitter in 1979. We made $16.64/hour on our checks. Claiming single and 0 I would pay aboput $340/week in taxes and take-home pay was about $325.


32 posted on 12/15/2022 1:34:02 PM PST by shotgun
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To: natalie227

“I want to correct myself. Reagan lowered it from 73% to 28%”


The HUGE thing that Reagan got passed was INDEXING the tax brackets to adjust for INFLATION!

The Dim’s loved inflation as a taxpayer would just ‘move up’ from one tax bracket to another.

God bless President Reagan!


33 posted on 12/15/2022 1:36:33 PM PST by BBB333 (The Power Of Trump Compels You!)
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To: EEGator

lol


34 posted on 12/15/2022 1:37:43 PM PST by sit-rep ( )
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To: Pete Dovgan

In the early 1950’s, when I was in grade school, the folks knew I was good at math so they asked me to check their 1040’s for accuracy. I read those old instruction books cover to cover and came to know all about the 90% top marginal tax rate. I was about ten when that first came to PMO. That convinced me to study it more and learn how to minimize taxes. The first thing that really stuck with me was that the “living expenses” of business was deductible. So for the past seven decades I’ve been a receipt saver, loop hole looker, depreciation freek, always have some form of bizness, and use as many forms as it takes to get the tax rate to zero. NEVER file on line. Make the fedz read the whole pile. If there is a challenge make THEM provide chapter and verse. I didn’t say it was easy but I guess it depends on how hard you work to make a buck and keep it for oneself?


35 posted on 12/15/2022 1:40:17 PM PST by OldWarBaby
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To: amorphous

you’d have to associate the percentage of the population making which salaries to determine if it was accurate (tho i do remember an insane top rate like 90%+ prior to it being dropped by JFK)


36 posted on 12/15/2022 1:46:51 PM PST by sten (fighting tyranny never goes out of style)
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To: EEGator
I know what it was in 1912...

Exactly. Our Founding Fathers knew just how evil a personal income tax is.

37 posted on 12/15/2022 2:12:44 PM PST by T.B. Yoits
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To: CA_soon_gone
At a 92% tax rate people were investing in anything you could deduct.

People weren't investing at all at 92%. Why get double taxed at that rate? Kennedy, and later Reagan, reduced the tax rates specifically to encourage investment.

38 posted on 12/15/2022 2:25:44 PM PST by SSS Two
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To: amorphous

that’s before deductions...


39 posted on 12/15/2022 2:33:05 PM PST by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: amorphous

Pretty much true. I remember my dad (dentist) buying apartment buildings with negative cash flow because the depreciation would more than offset by reducing his taxes. It was the Reagan tax cut that brought income tax down to more reasonable levels...but it also made capital gains taxed as regular income...2 edged sword.


40 posted on 12/15/2022 2:48:57 PM PST by 6ppc (Democrats would have to climb Everest to reach the level of "scum of the earth")
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