strider commentary 23

A Quick History of Taxation

A brief history of taxes in America, with commentary . . .

1646 Taxation in America initiated when New Englanders began paying a tax to England based upon their occupation.

This was the beginning of the end. New Englanders should have ignored the tax or declared war immediately.

1773 Boston Tea Party protest against English tax on tea.

Too little, too late. Makes great American history reading, but deludes school children into believing that Americans are tax rebels.

1783 Articles of Confederation gives Congress only the power to ask for contributions from the states.

Who is Congress, and who are the states? I guess that meant if you were not a "state" no one would "ask" you for tax "contributions."

1861 First income tax adopted to pay for the Civil War. The tax was repealed in 1872.

The relation between war and taxes is clear for all to see, isn't it?

1909 The 16th Amendment to the Constitution gives Congress the power to tax incomes.

A day of infamy! If anyone involved in this treasonous amendment were alive today I would gladly strangle him!

1913 Income tax implemented at a sliding rate of 1 percent for income between $20,000 and $50,000 and up to 6 percent for incomes greater than $500,000.

Such modest percentages! This was an early "tax the rich" scheme. Who could object to a 1 percent tax on incomes over $20,000 when the average annual income was less than $1,000? However, few remembered that the graduated income tax is a program modeled after the ideas of Karl Marx, the father of communist politics.

1921-29 Favorable business conditions allow taxes to be cut five times.

How did this happen? The normal policy today is to tax anyone who makes good money and give money to those who aren't making any money. But the welfare state was a glimmer in the eye of social planners then.

1943 Institution of tax withholding from wages and W-2 forms.

A diabolical plot to deprive taxpayers of the use of and interest on their money. Also, at this time taxes were called "victory taxes" to support the war effort. Who could object to that? Again, an obvious connection between war and taxation.

1952 Top tax rate becomes 92 percent.

Karl Marx smiled from his grave. Tax the hell out of anyone who made money, and tax the life out of those who made huge amounts of money. The implication is that people need only so much income to live a reasonable life, and all income in excess of this is owed to "society." Who will determine what amount is necessary? Arrogant politicians, of course!

1963 Top tax rate lowered to 70 percent.

92 percent was awful close to 100 percent, which - translated into philosophical terms - meant that the state owned you absolutely and completely. To avoid revolution it was necessary to claim only 70 percent ownership of the people by the state.

1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act cuts the top individual rate to 50 percent from 70 percent, cuts the capital gains rate to 20 percent from 40 percent, and provides accelerated cost recovery to business.

Now the government claimed only half ownership of the people and their investments. The title of this act alerts you to the tax-burdened business climate of the time. Things were getting bad and the state had to let up, or there would have been a great crash.

1982 Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act stiffens criminal penalties and attacks promoters of illegal tax shelters. In the same year, Senator Bill Bradley, a Democrat from New Jersey, proposes to cut tax rates and close loopholes, a theme subsequently echoed by Republicans.

Warming up for the approaching year of 1984. "Tax equity" can only be achieved by ceasing taxation and returning all taxes collected to their rightful owners. "Fiscal responsibility" means responsible management of this money. Such management is not at issue. The issue is the original confiscation.

1984 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act cuts capital-gain period from one year to six months.

Merely a rearrangement of how fast your tax debt is payable.

1985 House approves reform measure that lowers the top individual tax rate to 38 percent from 50 percent and severely restricts businesses' ability to depreciate investments.

Is this reform? From a government perspective, people who need reforming should be sent to reform school, or at the very least, to a re-education camp.

1986 Senate approves reform measure that lowers the top individual rate to 27 percent, eliminates Individual Retirement Accounts for most people, eliminates some tax shelters, but is less restrictive than the House measure on other business deductions.

This was more fiddling with the extent and details of the theft . . . but never with the question of theft itself.

1986 House and Senate conferees approve a compromise tax plan that would set individual rates at 15 and 28 percent, lower the top corporate rate to 34 percent, but eliminate many deductions and raise overall business taxes by about $120 billion.

And yet the robbery continues, with accurate calculations and mystical justifications . . .