HUMOR AND HISTORY
Death and taxes and childbirth! There's never any convenient time for any of them.
--Margaret Mitchell Gone with the wind
Born Free. . . . .Taxed to Death
--Unknown
Income tax has made liars out of more Americans than golf
--Will Rogers
The hardest thing in the world to understand is income tax.
--Albert Einstein
They said I live in a wonderful country and should pay my taxes with a smile!
I tried that but they insisted on CASH!!
--Mel Narvey
The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return.
It's the zero adjust on his bathroom scale.
--Arthur C. Clarke
Coming to the New World…….
When Hernando Cortes landed in the New World, he brought horses, soldiers – and his accountant. Recent historical research has highlighted Alonso De Avila, who kept the books for the Cortes army. As a reward for excellent service, he was made the first mayor of Veracruz, in what is now Mexico.
Which administration brought about the first federal income tax?
It was during the Lincoln administration in the middle of the Civil War that the first tax on income was levied by Congress -- in the Internal Revenue Act of 1862. The rates ranged from 3 to 5 percent. Congress eliminated the tax in 1872.
When did the federal income tax become a permanent institution?
It has been permanent since 1913, with the passage of the 16th Amendment. As established in that year, the bottom rate was 1 percent on taxable net income over $3,000 for an individual, $4,000 for a married couple. The top rate, for those making more than $500,000, was 7 percent.
The government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
George Bernard Shaw
Tax avoidance means that you hire a $250,000-fee lawyer, and he changes the word ‘evasion’ into the word ‘avoidance.’
Franklin D. Roosevelt
[A tax loophole is] something that benefits the other guy. If it benefits you, it is tax reform.
Russell B Long, US Senator
What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin.
Mark Twain
The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Ronald Reagan