Calculating New Income Tax
2/7/1919
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Cartoonist Clifford Berryman illustrates a new situation that would be commonplace for many Americans in the future—trying to calculate their income tax. Although only a small percentage of Americans were required to pay income tax in 1919, the government's need for funds had grown rapidly during the war years and continued to be high for 1919 as the United States provided food and other materials for a decimated Europe. The income tax was a relatively new means of collecting taxes, but would become a major source of government revenue in the decades ahead. Congress had been given the power to collect taxes based on income with the ratification of the 16th amendment to the Constitution on February 3, 1913.
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate.
National Archives Identifier:
6011549Full Citation: Calculating New Income Tax; 2/7/1919; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/calculating-new-income-tax, March 28, 2024]