It's a Conspiracy!

[Dave2]

In 1912, the makers of alcohol and high blood pressure medications realized they'd sell much more of their product if they could, on a regular basis, cause everyone to become highly stressed, annoyed, and confused at the same time. Clearly, they would need the help of government in this endeavor, which they obtained by paying them off, but not with their own money!... That was their genius! They realized they could bribe the government with the people's money by giving the government had a new way to raise taxes, so they secretly helped to pass the 16th amendment! Plus, not only does the government get more of our money, they also get many opportunities to demonstrate "who's really in charge around here". Because I am so fed up with the hassle that I'm almost willing to let them keep my income tax return, but then I'd get in legal trouble for not filing taxes, even though they owe me!




Ok, I'm done venting... for now...



But seriously, if we ever invent time machines... Hitler, Marx, and whoever invented income taxes.

[The Annoyed Man]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax ... come_taxes

In order to help pay for its war effort in the American Civil War, Congress imposed its first personal income tax in 1861. It was part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800). This tax was repealed and replaced by another income tax in 1862.

In 1894, Democrats in Congress passed the Wilson-Gorman tariff, which imposed the first peacetime income tax. The rate was 2% on income over $4000, which meant fewer than 10% of households would pay any. The purpose of the income tax was to make up for revenue that would be lost by tariff reductions.

In 1895 the United States Supreme Court, in its ruling in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co., held a tax based on receipts from the use of property to be unconstitutional. The Court held that taxes on rents from real estate, on interest income from personal property and other income from personal property (which includes dividend income) were treated as direct taxes on property, and therefore had to be apportioned (divided among the states based on their populations). Since apportionment of income taxes is impractical, this had the effect of prohibiting a federal tax on income from property. However, the Court affirmed that the Constitution did not deny Congress the power to impose a tax on real and personal property, and it affirmed that such would be a direct tax. Due to the political difficulties of taxing individual wages without taxing income from property, a federal income tax was impractical from the time of the Pollock decision until the time of ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment (below).

The 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913. The Russian Marxist revolution wasn't until 1917.....4 years later. Hitler was two decades after that. The idea of income tax in America goes back to the War of 1812.

There is no doubt that politicians find the power to tax entirely too convenient, and they are entirely too willing to turn the greed of the people against themselves through the exercise of that power. There is equally no doubt that as the greed of the people has increased, the politicians' desire to exercise their power to tax has increased correspondingly. Bread and circuses.

The Founders disagreed on some things, but they agreed to the man on one thing: the political system they created required both virtuous leadership, and a virtuous people. When you throw virtue out the window, you are discarding the very thing which guarantees our personal liberties. To doubters, I would submit two questions: 1) do you enjoy your constitutional liberties today the way your parents and grandparents did yesterday; and 2) are your elected representatives mostly virtuous and restrained, or are they mostly venal and crapulent? And that's just the politicians. One only has to be an observer of popular culture (Mylie Cyrus, Justin Beiber, the Kardashians, twerking, etc., etc., etc.) to understand that the people gave up their virtue a LONG time ago.

Obviously, there exceptions to this. Certainly, people of color were persecuted more greatly 100 years ago, in defiance of their rights, than they are today. But as a general thing, we are less free today than 100 years ago, and it is due to a loss of virtue. Because of my personal religious proclivities, I tend to see this through the lens of my faith; and looking through that lens, I see a country today from which God is beginning to withhold His blessings, because we have turned our backs on Him.

That's my 2¢.

[anygunanywhere]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax ... come_taxes

In order to help pay for its war effort in the American Civil War, Congress imposed its first personal income tax in 1861. It was part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800). This tax was repealed and replaced by another income tax in 1862.

In 1894, Democrats in Congress passed the Wilson-Gorman tariff, which imposed the first peacetime income tax. The rate was 2% on income over $4000, which meant fewer than 10% of households would pay any. The purpose of the income tax was to make up for revenue that would be lost by tariff reductions.

In 1895 the United States Supreme Court, in its ruling in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co., held a tax based on receipts from the use of property to be unconstitutional. The Court held that taxes on rents from real estate, on interest income from personal property and other income from personal property (which includes dividend income) were treated as direct taxes on property, and therefore had to be apportioned (divided among the states based on their populations). Since apportionment of income taxes is impractical, this had the effect of prohibiting a federal tax on income from property. However, the Court affirmed that the Constitution did not deny Congress the power to impose a tax on real and personal property, and it affirmed that such would be a direct tax. Due to the political difficulties of taxing individual wages without taxing income from property, a federal income tax was impractical from the time of the Pollock decision until the time of ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment (below).

The 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913. The Russian Marxist revolution wasn't until 1917.....4 years later. Hitler was two decades after that. The idea of income tax in America goes back to the War of 1812.

There is no doubt that politicians find the power to tax entirely too convenient, and they are entirely too willing to turn the greed of the people against themselves through the exercise of that power. There is equally no doubt that as the greed of the people has increased, the politicians' desire to exercise their power to tax has increased correspondingly. Bread and circuses.

The Founders disagreed on some things, but they agreed to the man on one thing: the political system they created required both virtuous leadership, and a virtuous people. When you throw virtue out the window, you are discarding the very thing which guarantees our personal liberties. To doubters, I would submit two questions: 1) do you enjoy your constitutional liberties today the way your parents and grandparents did yesterday; and 2) are your elected representatives mostly virtuous and restrained, or are they mostly venal and crapulent? And that's just the politicians. One only has to be an observer of popular culture (Mylie Cyrus, Justin Beiber, the Kardashians, twerking, etc., etc., etc.) to understand that the people gave up their virtue a LONG time ago.

Obviously, there exceptions to this. Certainly, people of color were persecuted more greatly 100 years ago, in defiance of their rights, than they are today. But as a general thing, we are less free today than 100 years ago, and it is due to a loss of virtue. Because of my personal religious proclivities, I tend to see this through the lens of my faith; and looking through that lens, I see a country today from which God is beginning to withhold His blessings, because we have turned our backs on Him.

That's my 2¢.

Jeremiah 7:23-28.

Anygunanywhere

[gthaustex]

Amen TAM. IMHO, you nailed it....

[Dave2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax ... come_taxes

[Long Quote from Said Article]

Yeah, I read that too when I was looking up the date. I'd forgotten about the income taxes during the war.

There is no doubt that politicians find the power to tax entirely too convenient, and they are entirely too willing to turn the greed of the people against themselves through the exercise of that power. There is equally no doubt that as the greed of the people has increased, the politicians' desire to exercise their power to tax has increased correspondingly. Bread and circuses.

Yep. I'm pretty sure we'd be better off if more people were students of history.

[Dori]

Because I am so fed up with the hassle that I'm almost willing to let them keep my income tax return, but then I'd get in legal trouble for not filing taxes, even though they owe me!

If most of your income is wages like most Americans today, you can file a tax return in 15-20 minutes online if you take the standard deduction.

But seriously, if we ever invent time machines... Hitler, Marx, and whoever invented income taxes.

If I remember history class right, the Roman Empire had income taxes. I think the founders knew the danger of income taxes when they wrote Article I, Section 9, Clause 4.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

The American Republic will endure until the day Congress
discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.

Alexis de Tocqueville, 1805-1859

SIA

[jimlongley]

I had a friend, long ago and far away, who was due a refund. He decided that instead of filing that year, even though he already had filled out the forms to find out he was due a refund, that he would "let it ride" and for several years thereafter he did much the same thing. He was really upset when he did finally file and the IRS bounced his return and called him in for an audit.

[pancho]

The penalty for not filing an individual return is a percentage of the amount owed based on time. I'm not sure there's any penalty if the IRS agrees you overpaid through withholding but is it worth the risk?

As long as it's legal, I file a hand written paper return as my little bit of protest. Sometimes I file an extension for kicks.