The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of the Progressive Era, a time period in which political and social reform centered on industry, voting, immigration, and several other topical issues of the time period. The short-lived Revenue Act of 1861 predated the Sixteenth Amendment as the first official federal income tax, but it was eventually repealed in 1872. Before an income tax was established, the majority of funds given to the federal government derived from tariffs on domestic and international goods. In the Constitution’s original writing, the Taxing Clause in Article I grants Congress the general authority to “lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imports, and Excises.” For “direct” taxes, Article I commands that they must be collected based on the population of the states. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. It grants Congress the authority to issue an income tax without having to determine it based on population. (Public Domain)Īmendment Sixteen to the Constitution was ratified on February 3, 1913. As the next president, Taft would continue to advance Roosevelt’s progressive angle to political decision making, including income taxes and the future Sixteenth Amendment, 1909. “Puck” political cartoon satirizing Theodore Roosevelt passing his presidential policies to William Howard Taft.
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