Lincoln and the First Tax | TaxTV

Top Takeaways

1: President Lincoln Imposed the First Federal Income Tax

On August 5, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, imposed the first federal income tax in U.S. history in order to finance the Civil War.

President Lincoln sent letters to cabinet members to inquire as to whether the President had the constitutional authority to collect the taxes. Congress passed the act as an emergency measure to fund the Civil War.

Taxed Income From All Sources

The Act imposed an income tax that was broadly written to define income as gain ?derived from any kind of property, or from any profession, trade, employment, or vocation carried on in the United States or elsewhere, or from any other source whatever.?

Tax Rate of 3% of for Most and 5% for the Wealthy

The tax was based on the principle of a graduated payments schedule. It imposed a 3% tax on individuals earning between eight hundred and ten thousand dollars a year, but those with an income in excess of ten thousand dollars got taxed at a 5% rate.

Source: http://www.taxtv.com/2012/02/lincoln-and-the-first-tax/

battlefield 3 release battlefield 3 release battle field 3 battle field 3 dana wilkey dana wilkey chuck liddell