History of Taxation in America

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Joseph Thorndike, Soaking the Wealthy: An American Tradition; From carriages and snuff to millionaires' income, two centuries of targets. Wall Street Journal, Jan 29, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703956604576109911650535554.html

Note:
(a) progressive tax
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_tax

Quote:

"A progressive tax is a tax by which the tax rate increases as the taxable base amount increases.

"The opposite of a progressive tax is a regressive tax, where the relative tax rate or burden increases as an individual's ability to pay it decreases. Sales taxes are often criticized because low income households must pay a greater share of their disposable income to a sales tax than wealthier households. In between is a proportional tax, where the tax rate is fixed as the amount subject to taxation increases.

(b) The article stated, "Our national penchant for progressive taxation has deep roots in American history. It can be found in the revenue debates of the Civil War, when Union leaders imposed the nation's first income tax to quiet complaints about 'a rich man's war and a poor man's fight.'

(i) Taxation history of the United States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_history_of_the_United_States
(section 1 Colonial taxation, sub-section 1.1 England: Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend Revenue Act and Tea Act)
(ii) Taxation in the United States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_the_United_States

My comment:
(i) Please read section 1 Federal taxation, sub-section 1.1 History, which includes, "Tariffs were the largest source of federal revenue from the 1790s to the eve of World War I, until they were surpassed by income taxes.
(ii) Go to section 2 State and local government taxation and you will find scant information on history tax.
(iii) I delve into it and am surprised that state income tax arrived very late. (In other words, it is not as if British colonies in America started collected income tax.)

Understanding Our Tax System: A Primer for Active Citizens. Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget, a research center), undated.

* Chapter Three: The Property Tax and Related Transfer Taxes
http://www.massbudget.org/documentsearch/findDocument?doc_id=748&dse_id=1329
("The taxation of property in Massachusetts dates back to 1646. Until the early 20th century there was a general property tax on all kinds of property, including land, houses, furnishings, livestock, and tools. It was essentially a tax on the items that, at that time, constituted a family’s wealth. Eventually, the ability of the property tax to raise sufficient revenue, however, became quite limited, as many forms of property were exempted from the tax, and income (rather than property) grew as a share of family resources. During the 20th century, the property tax was replaced as the primary state tax by taxes on income and sales, and by various excise taxes. Now, Massachusetts, like most other states, has no state property tax. The property tax is instead a local tax, used to pay for local government services. Property tax rates vary widely among cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth.")

* Chapter Four: Personal Income Taxes  
http://www.massbudget.org/documentsearch/findDocument?doc_id=748&dse_id=1330
("A Brief History of the Personal Income Tax in Massachusetts   Massachusetts adopted a personal income tax in 1916. The Massachusetts State Constitution requires that this be a flat tax, meaning that all levels of income are taxed at the same rate.")

* Chapter Five: The General Sales Tax
http://www.massbudget.org/documentsearch/findDocument?doc_id=748&dse_id=1331
("A Brief History of the Massachusetts General Sales Tax   Massachusetts did not adopt a state general sales tax until 1966. Of the 46 states that have a sales tax, only three adopted the tax later than Massachusetts.")


(c) For "Populists," see People's Party (United States, 1891)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Party_(United_States,_1891)
(also known as the "Populists"; The party's platform, commonly known as the Omaha Platform, called for the abolition of national banks, a graduated income tax, direct election of Senators, civil service reform, a working day of eight hours and Government control of all railroads, telegraphs, and telephones. In the 1892 Presidential election, [its condidate] James B. Weaver received 1,027,329 votes. Weaver carried four states (Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, and Nevada))

See paragraph 8 of the WSJ article.
(d) Gilded Age
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_age
(e) direct tax
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_tax
(a direct tax is one paid directly to the government by the persons (juristic or natural) on whom it is imposed (often accompanied by a tax return filed by the taxpayer). Examples include some income taxes, some corporate taxes, and transfer taxes such as estate (inheritance) tax and gift tax. In this sense, a direct tax is contrasted with an indirect tax or "collected" tax (such as sales tax or value added tax (VAT)); a "collected" tax is one which is collected by intermediaries who turn over the proceeds to the government)
(f) The article stated, "The new income tax looked a lot like the old one. With low rates and a high exemption, it dipped gently into the pockets of the top 2% and left everyone else unscathed.

My comment: One theory is that the 1913 federal income tax law aimed to appease general public, giving them an illusion they would not be taxed.
(g) For "marginal income tax rates," see tax rate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_rate
(section 3 Marginal: "A marginal tax rate is the tax rate that applies to the last dollar of the tax base")
(h) Of course, Republicans have a different tax, when it comes to taxing the rich. They oppose it. When Ronald Reagan came to power, he reduced the tax rate of top brackets, followed by Reoublicans George H W Bush and Gorge W Bush. Pres. See the graphic in this article. Bill Clinton in between raised it, in part due to alarm over then historical federal debt (think Ross Perot, third-party presidential candidate) which has since mushroomed further more.   


---------------------------------Separately
Scott Adams, How to Tax the Rich; Try giving them perks and privileges (an extra vote?) in return, says 'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams. Wall Street Journal, Jan 30, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703293204576106164123424314.html

My comment:
(a) Read only the illustration at the bottom of the web page headlined "Infernal Revenue: Unusual Taxes in History."
(b) solitaire (n; French, from solitaire, adjective, solitary, from Latin solitarius)
"1: a single gem (as a diamond) set alone
2: any of various card games that can be played by one person"
www.m-w.com

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