https://i.postimg.cc/3RFgy4hH/BB10ZlWx.jpg

America’s tax laws have been in flux for generations and remain so to this day. The first income tax in the United States came about with the Revenue Act of 1861. A flat 3% tax on income above $800 was used to fund the Civil War and repealed 11 years later. In 1894, a new flat federal income tax was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. It was not until the 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913 that the federal income tax finally stuck for good.

https://i.postimg.cc/0jtDfTrW/BB10Zeet.jpg

Federal tax returns were not always due April 15. In 1913, March 1 was the big day; in 1918 it was moved to March 15; and finally in 1954 the current Tax Day was established as April 15. (Until this year, when it was delayed due to the coronavirus.)

https://i.postimg.cc/9QwZdN2b/BB10ZlX9.jpg

In the 1940s, the government needed a steady flow of cash to fund the war effort. It passed the Current Tax Payment Act of 1943, which required that companies withhold income taxes from employees' paychecks and make ongoing payments on employees' behalf. Before this (from 1916 to 1943), Americans paid income taxes quarterly or annually.

https://i.postimg.cc/Gp0YqJhC/BB10ZjlJ.jpg

Before World War II, few individuals or families owed income taxes. Due to a high personal exemption, only 1.1% of working-age people filed a return, according to the Tax Foundation, and about 17% of those filers did not have to pay income taxes.

https://i.postimg.cc/jdL7TkDT/BB10ZeeZ.jpg

According to the Tax Policy Center think tank, 42.8% of tax filers will owe no individual income tax or have negative taxable income for 2020.

https://i.postimg.cc/qR1NV80g/BB10ZlXK.jpg

As of Feb. 21, the average income tax refund was $3,125, according to the Internal Revenue Service. With 48 million individual returns processed, the IRS has paid out more than 37.5 million refunds.

https://i.postimg.cc/05HzVdcB/BB10ZefI.jpg

Collectively Americans paid $5.2 trillion in federal, state, and local taxes last year — more than the combined cost of food, clothing, and housing, according to the Tax Foundation.

https://i.postimg.cc/wTC7pxK5/BB10ZefP.jpg

While there's no dodging a federal bill, seven states do not have an income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. New Hampshire and Tennessee tax only dividends and interest income.

https://i.postimg.cc/TPG1Kk3p/BB10ZlZF.jpg

According to the Tax Policy Center, the top 1% of earners in the United States paid 38.8% of all federal individual income tax in 2019. The top 0.1% paid 19% of the total.

https://i.postimg.cc/tCx4201s/BB10Zegx.jpg

Today, the highest marginal income tax bracket is 37%, but it has been much higher. The Individual Income Tax Act of 1944 raised tax rates to the point where the highest bracket was 94%.

https://i.postimg.cc/ZRXC5JBh/BB10Zjnk.jpg

A few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a 100% income tax. In a letter to Congress, he wrote that in this time of "grave national danger ... no American citizen ought to have a net income, after he has paid his taxes, of more than $25,000 a year" (equivalent to about $419,370 today).

https://i.postimg.cc/jSRC5g5C/BB10Zm0u.jpg

The IRS pays people to provide information on someone who did not pay taxes. The whistleblower can get up to 30% of what the IRS collects in back taxes, penalties, and interest.

https://i.postimg.cc/50Q2GDPK/BB10Zm0y.jpg

You Do the Crime, You Pay the Tax. Even money earned illegally is subject to tax. Some states require drug dealers to pay taxes on the drugs they sell. The tax may be due as soon as the drug is in their possession, meaning someone caught with drugs may have to pay a fine for unpaid taxes on top of punishment for their other crimes. To pay the tax anonymously, dealers can buy tax stamps and affix them to containers of controlled substances.

https://i.postimg.cc/MpZKxnPQ/BB10Zm0P.jpg

An IRS rule change in 1987 required taxpayers to list dependents' Social Security numbers for the first time. As a result, about 7 million children — a tenth of all dependent children in the country at the time — "disappeared."

https://i.postimg.cc/d3Kwf3ZD/BB10-Zm0-Y-1.jpg

Delaware has a low 8.7% flat tax on corporations, likely the reason about half of all publicly traded companies in the country consider it home. A single address in Wilmington, 1209 North Orange St., is the legal address of more than 300,000 companies.

https://i.postimg.cc/Dy6nC2vy/BB10Zm1w.jpg

Madison Square Garden, the iconic New York sports, music, and entertainment venue, has not had to pay property taxes since 1982. The arrangement was supposed to end after 10 years, according to then-mayor Edward Koch, but due to the disputed wording of the agreement, it remains in perpetuity. The break has cost New York City an estimated $555 million.

https://i.postimg.cc/kXphMZwv/BB10ZgNX.jpg

Some states offer residents very odd or specific tax credits or deductions. In Alaska, eligible whaling captains can deduct up to $10,000 for whaling-related expenses. In Hawaii, property owners may be able to deduct up to $3,000 in expenses related to maintaining a tree with historic or cultural value.

https://i.postimg.cc/V6mKHcLm/BB10ZehQ.jpg

What is the real difference between a Kit Kat and a 3 Musketeers? The former contains flour in its wafers, an ingredient that leads some states to label the Kit Kat a grocery item rather than candy. As a result, retailers may have to charge different taxes on the bars.

https://i.postimg.cc/FRpDMn7c/BB10Zm2h.jpg

Some states apply sales tax to children's diapers because they are considered clothing. The same tax does not apply to adult diapers.

https://i.postimg.cc/d304wmyf/BB10Zm2p.jpg

In New York, cutting a bagel turns it into prepared food, which means the store must add an 8.875% sales tax to the price.

https://i.postimg.cc/9FKJH9Fx/BB10Zeia.jpg

Taxes on products or services that are considered harmful are referred to as sin taxes. Some examples include taxes on alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and even fast food. One example of a sin tax is Utah's 10% tax on businesses that have nude or partially nude workers — in other words, strip clubs. The extra tax extends to drinks and food sold on the premises.

https://i.postimg.cc/KzG5DrJY/BB10ZnFh.jpg

In England, residents must pay a license (or, ahem, licence) fee for each TV in their homes. The money from this annual fee goes toward funding the BBC. The cost is 150.50 pounds for a color TV and 50.50 pounds for a black-and-white TV. The blind pay half as much.

https://i.postimg.cc/VLrWgNBX/BB10ZeiH.jpg

U.S. car buyers pay sales tax, and there are fees for registering a vehicle, but they don't come close to what Danish car buyers pay. Depending on the price of the car, the registration tax has been as high as 150% of the sale price.

https://i.postimg.cc/RZwQrbYF/BB10YPaX.jpg

As Benjamin Franklin said, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Although he's often credited with the idea, that line comes from a 1789 letter, and similar quotes date to 1716 and 1724.

Lee,

I have said it many times....thank you for brightening my days :)

I really appreciate all your time and effort!

Dan

https://i.postimg.cc/MGKskPP1/BB16G29K.jpg

The next scheduled NHRA Drag Race is this coming Sunday (July 19): Lucas Oil Summer Nationals to be televised on FOX at 12 PM EST

I remember the Summer Nationals used to be held in Englishtown. :(