HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRESIDENT LINCOLN
Although we no longer celebrate the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln (02-12-1809 thru 04-15-1865), I thought it appropriate to post a blog about this famous president. He is best known in history for leading the United Stated during the Civil War and for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. While most citizens know some to a lot about our 16th president, I thought I would share something many may not know.
President Abraham Lincoln - 16th President
Image Source: https://www.forbes.com/federal-income-taxes/
Although we no longer celebrate the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln (02-12-1809 thru 04-15-1865), I thought it appropriate to post a blog about this famous president. He is best known in history for leading the United Stated during the Civil War and for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. While most citizens know some to a lot about our 16th president, I thought I would share something many may not know.
President Abraham Lincoln - 16th President
Image Source: https://www.forbes.com/federal-income-taxes/
IT’S ALL ABOUT TAXES
Even though one of the causes behind the Revolutionary War had to do with taxation (without representation), income tax has been practiced in the United States since colonial times. Some southern states imposed their own taxes on income from property, both before and after Independence.
However, one of the powers granted to the federal government by the US Constitution was the right to raise taxes at a uniform rate throughout the nation, requiring that direct taxes be imposed only in proportion to the Census population of each state.
Even though one of the causes behind the Revolutionary War had to do with taxation (without representation), income tax has been practiced in the United States since colonial times. Some southern states imposed their own taxes on income from property, both before and after Independence.
However, one of the powers granted to the federal government by the US Constitution was the right to raise taxes at a uniform rate throughout the nation, requiring that direct taxes be imposed only in proportion to the Census population of each state.
FATHER OF OUR FEDERAL INCOME TAX
Federal income tax was first introduced by Abraham Lincoln to help pay for the Civil War. The Bureau of Internal Revenue, predecessor of the Internal Revenue Service, was created under Revenue Act of 1861 and was renewed in later years and reformed in 1894 in the form of the Wilson-Gorman tariff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/history_of_income_tax
The tax burden fell primarily on the well-off citizens because of an exemption for the first $600 of income. According to the Yahoo AI, average wages in 1861 were approximately:
● Unskilled laborers - $1.00 to $1.50 per day,
● Skilled workers (as carpenters/blacksmiths) - $2.00 to $3.00 per day,
● Factory workers - $0.75 and $1.50 per day,
● Agricultural laborers - $0.50 to $1.00 per day, depending on the region,
After the $600 exemption, the maximum rate topped off at five percent. The taxes were temporary, not becoming permanent until the ratification in 1913 of the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In an 1864 address to the 164th Ohio Regiment, Mr. Lincoln said "I apologize for the inequities in the practical applications of the tax, but if we should wait before collecting a tax to adjust the taxes upon each man in exact proportion with every other, we shall never collect any tax at all."
On February 25, 1913, the 16th Amendment officially became part of the Constitution, granting Congress constitutional authority to levy taxes on corporate and individual income.
Federal income tax was first introduced by Abraham Lincoln to help pay for the Civil War. The Bureau of Internal Revenue, predecessor of the Internal Revenue Service, was created under Revenue Act of 1861 and was renewed in later years and reformed in 1894 in the form of the Wilson-Gorman tariff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/history_of_income_tax
The tax burden fell primarily on the well-off citizens because of an exemption for the first $600 of income. According to the Yahoo AI, average wages in 1861 were approximately:
● Unskilled laborers - $1.00 to $1.50 per day,
● Skilled workers (as carpenters/blacksmiths) - $2.00 to $3.00 per day,
● Factory workers - $0.75 and $1.50 per day,
● Agricultural laborers - $0.50 to $1.00 per day, depending on the region,
After the $600 exemption, the maximum rate topped off at five percent. The taxes were temporary, not becoming permanent until the ratification in 1913 of the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In an 1864 address to the 164th Ohio Regiment, Mr. Lincoln said "I apologize for the inequities in the practical applications of the tax, but if we should wait before collecting a tax to adjust the taxes upon each man in exact proportion with every other, we shall never collect any tax at all."
On February 25, 1913, the 16th Amendment officially became part of the Constitution, granting Congress constitutional authority to levy taxes on corporate and individual income.
THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT
Because the story about Lincoln is short and to the point, and since February is when many Americans start getting together their information for file their income tax, I’m sharing some quotes by other American Presidents about taxes.
Every president in US history has made some statement about taxes, although not necessarily income tax -- even our founding fathers. I’ve tried to show some of the more telling. Draw your own conclusions.
George Washington (1st President)
[We should avoid] “ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear.”
Thomas Jefferson ( 3rd President)
“The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”
“To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical.”
James Madison (4th President)
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."
Abraham Lincoln (16th President)
“The government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the government and the buying power of consumers. By adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity.”
James Garfield (20th President)
"Taxes should be levied according to the ability to pay."
"A fair tax system is essential for a prosperous society."
"The government should not overburden its citizens with excessive taxation."
"Taxation is a necessary evil, but it must be just and equitable."
Theodore Roosevelt (26th President)
Because the story about Lincoln is short and to the point, and since February is when many Americans start getting together their information for file their income tax, I’m sharing some quotes by other American Presidents about taxes.
Every president in US history has made some statement about taxes, although not necessarily income tax -- even our founding fathers. I’ve tried to show some of the more telling. Draw your own conclusions.
George Washington (1st President)
[We should avoid] “ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear.”
Thomas Jefferson ( 3rd President)
“The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity under the name of funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”
“To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical.”
James Madison (4th President)
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."
Abraham Lincoln (16th President)
“The government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the government and the buying power of consumers. By adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity.”
James Garfield (20th President)
"Taxes should be levied according to the ability to pay."
"A fair tax system is essential for a prosperous society."
"The government should not overburden its citizens with excessive taxation."
"Taxation is a necessary evil, but it must be just and equitable."
Theodore Roosevelt (26th President)
Woodrow Wilson (28th President)
“I trust that the Congress will give its immediate consideration to the problem of future taxation. Simplification of the income and profits taxes has become an immediate necessity.”
Warren G. Harding (29th President)
“I can’t make a damn thing out of this tax problem. I listen to one side and they seem right — and then I talk to the other side and they seem just as right, and here I am where I started. God, what a job!”
Calvin Coolidge (30th President)
“Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”
Herbert Hoover (31st President)
“Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd President)
“Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American ‘principle’.”
[This bill that I am vetoing] “is not a tax bill, but a tax relief bill providing relief not for the needy but for the greedy.”
“Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American ‘principle’.”
[This bill that I am vetoing] “is not a tax bill, but a tax relief bill providing relief not for the needy but for the greedy.”
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (35th President)
“It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low, and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the tax rates.”
"One of the major characteristics of our tax system, and one in which we can take a great deal of pride, is that it operates primarily through individual self-assessment.”
Lyndon B. Johnson (36th President)
“I want to turn the poor from tax eaters to taxpayers."
“The most damaging thing you can do to any businessman in America is to keep him in doubt, and to keep him guessing on what our tax policy is.”
Richard M. Nixon (37th President)
“It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low, and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the tax rates.”
"One of the major characteristics of our tax system, and one in which we can take a great deal of pride, is that it operates primarily through individual self-assessment.”
Lyndon B. Johnson (36th President)
“I want to turn the poor from tax eaters to taxpayers."
“The most damaging thing you can do to any businessman in America is to keep him in doubt, and to keep him guessing on what our tax policy is.”
Richard M. Nixon (37th President)
“Make sure you pay your taxes; otherwise you can get in a lot of trouble.”
Jimmy Carter (39th President)
“The federal income tax system is a disgrace to the human race.”
Ronald Reagan (40th President)
“The federal income tax system is a disgrace to the human race.”
Ronald Reagan (40th President)
| “My friends, don’t you believe that our taxes are too high, too complicated, and utterly unfair?” “The taxpayer: that’s someone who works for the federal government, but doesn’t have to take a civil service examination.” |  |
George H. Busch (41st President)
Bill Clinton (42nd President)
“There’s a lot of evidence you can sell people on tax increases if they think it’s an investment.”
“I must be the only person in America that every time — I pay the maximum tax rates — every time I sign that tax form, I smile. I thank God I live in a country that gave me a chance to make the money I do.”
George W. Bush (43rd President)
“We’ve got the hardest working people in the world. We’ve got the best tax policy in the world.”
“Our view is that taxpayer dollars should be spent wisely or not at all.”
THAT’S A LOT OF RETORHIC
This is as far a I’m prepared to go with the presidents. Good luck preparing your income taxes. And don’t forget to think about Abe Lincoln and give him a thumbs up. I doubt he intended things to end up like this.
JUST SAYIN’
Sources:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2012/08/15/some-presidential-words-on-federal-income-taxes/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_history_of_income_tax_in_the_United_States
https://www.irs.gov/irs-history-timeline
https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1860-1869
https://rueassociates.com/blog/quotes-from-u-s-presidents-on-taxes/
https://www.pillsburylaw.com/a/web/316/PresidentialQuotesAboutTaxes.pdf
https://www.azquotes.com/author/5343-James_A_Garfield#google_vignette
https://www.azquotes.com/author/10842-Richard_M_Nixon/tag/taxes
https://mises.org/mises-wire/taxes-are-price-we-pay-not-living-civilized-society
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