The Bipartisan Origins of the Income Tax
This article is for subscribers only.
April 17 (Bloomberg) -- When the modern U.S. income taxcame into being a century ago, no one could have anticipatedthat it would become the labyrinth of rules and regulations thatAmericans wrestled with as they filed their returns this week.
The reformers and lawmakers who supported the income taxwanted it to be a visible and salient way to raise revenue. Atax that was seen and felt, they argued, could foster a sense offiscal citizenship. By paying taxes directly to the federalgovernment, citizens would be more attuned to the workings ofthe state, and would have a more tangible stake in how publicfunds were raised and used. A direct tax could help forge arenewed sense of national civic identity.