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The 16th Amendment: How the U.S. Federal Income Tax Became D.C.'s Favorite Political Weapon
Ammo.com ^ | 12/28/2020 | Jose Nino

Posted on 12/28/2020 1:26:38 PM PST by ammodotcom

The American Revolution was sparked in part by unjust taxation. After all, the colonists in Boston rebelled against Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” and summarily tossed English tea into the harbor in protest in 1773.

Nowadays Americans collectively spend more than 6 billion hours each year filling out tax forms, keeping records, and learning new tax rules according to the Office of Management and Budget. Complying with the byzantine U.S. tax code is estimated to cost the American economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually – time and money that could otherwise be used for more productive activities like entrepreneurship and investment, or just more family and leisure time.

The majority of these six billion hours sacrificed by Americans to Washington each year goes to complying with a tax that didn’t even exist until 100 years ago – the federal income tax.

Worse still, this tax has become a political weapon for Washington to incentivize certain activities (home ownership, charitable giving, etc.) and to punish others. It’s a tax that follows Americans wherever they go in the world, and it’s one that was originally sold to the American people by President Woodrow Wilson as a means of “soaking the rich” during the so-called Gilded Age.

How did a country that was founded on the concept of limited government come to embrace such a draconian policy? And what does it say about Washington that tax reform has become synonymous with class warfare and corporate lobbyists?

Read on to learn the history of the 16th Amendment – which authorized the federal collection of an income tax – and how that power has ultimately meant the growth of Washington at the expense of just about everyone else.

(Excerpt) Read more at ammo.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; Politics
KEYWORDS: 16thamendment; blogpimp; government; taxes
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To: ammodotcom
I have a copy of the original income tax form of 1913 on my website.

Here are the rates:

Yeah, I'd take those rates, as is without even adjusting for inflation, which has been considerable since 1913. $20k in 1913 is equivalent to more than $500k today.

21 posted on 12/28/2020 2:59:57 PM PST by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
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To: eyeamok
The Victory Tax was how it was sold. At the time only the very wealthy paid any Tax on Income and the rate was 1%

See post 21 above for the original rates.

22 posted on 12/28/2020 3:02:04 PM PST by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
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To: Farcesensitive
And property/income taxes need to be banned at all levels.

What happens to the services that will no longer be funded? Like schools for example?

A friend of mine said recently she was thinking of moving to Florida because they have no state income tax. I pointed out that is false reasoning as Florida has expenses just like every other state. The money has to come for someplace. In Florida's case, they tax the tourist industry, something they have a lot of in Florida. In theory, Florida residents don't feel this tax 'cause they don't pay it.

My Brother, who lives in Florida, mentioned recently that the China virus has just killed the Florida tourist industry and the state has been busy figuring out where the needed money is going to come from.

States, like all of us, have expenses. And the states get what they need for one source or another.

23 posted on 12/28/2020 3:11:17 PM PST by upchuck (All I want for Christmas is term limits for Congress and SCOTUS. h/t Gamble via pookie cartoons.)
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To: upchuck

There are other kinds of taxes than property and income taxes.

Income taxes give the government too much power and invade your privacy and property taxes mean that you don’t own property, you rent from the government.

We also both know that government is bloated with waste, fraud, abuse and services it has no business being involved in.


24 posted on 12/28/2020 3:16:10 PM PST by Farcesensitive (K is coming)
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To: zeugma

Exactly. Now we “rich” get taxed to give thousands of dollars to everyone else while we get nothing.

I no longer tip at restaurants, haircuts, or anyplace else. They already get my money, and I only get taxed.


25 posted on 12/28/2020 3:25:36 PM PST by CodeToad (Arm Up! They Have!)
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To: samadams2000

the income tax was as high as 92% at one time.


26 posted on 12/28/2020 3:40:30 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (If the meanings in the Constitution can change, why did they bother writing it down?)
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To: faithhopecharity

Correct, originlly only the top 0.5% had to pay income tax.


27 posted on 12/28/2020 3:42:24 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (If the meanings in the Constitution can change, why did they bother writing it down?)
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To: curious7

Tennessee has NEVER had an income tax and cannot by the state constitution have one. So it the state legislature cannot institute and income tax, then how does it have the ability to grant someone else the power to do it?


28 posted on 12/28/2020 3:44:44 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (If the meanings in the Constitution can change, why did they bother writing it down?)
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To: curious7
Back in the 90s a group filed a lawsuit in OK, IIRC, contesting the 16th amendment. Something about it not being actually approved by the necessary number of states, and that they had evidence that the clerk or whomever in DC simply claimed it had been approved. Never heard much about it after that announcement. Wonder if the DSers got to them back then?

The lawsuit got bounced by the Seventh Circuit, and SCOTUS denied cert.

29 posted on 12/28/2020 3:49:36 PM PST by Lurking Libertarian (Non sub homine, sed sub Deo et lege)
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To: SuperLuminal

Your post is why we need a like button.


30 posted on 12/28/2020 3:58:49 PM PST by tnlibertarian
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To: T.B. Yoits

Yep, the modern form of US govt is not in the constitution. Lincoln started it and admitted he had destroyed the republic. The only way to get America back is to cut the federal govt back to what it’s suppose to be.


31 posted on 12/28/2020 4:51:06 PM PST by Carry me back (Cut the feds by 90%)
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To: samadams2000

Better yet, if the senile puppet gets stuffed into the big boy chair we’ll officially have exorbitant taxes WITHOUT even the illusion of representation. It’s hard to believe this is the same country that rebelled less than 250 years ago – because it’s not.


32 posted on 12/29/2020 4:40:57 PM PST by ammodotcom
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To: Lurking Libertarian

Thanks for the update.


33 posted on 12/31/2020 11:42:07 AM PST by curious7
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