Posters hyping early tax filing, 1945. NARA IDs 516201 and 516202.
The income tax law is a lot of bunk. The government can't collect legal taxes from illegal money. -- Al Capone
IT'S TAX DAY! (pre-COVID)
By Miriam Kleiman, Program Director for Public Affairs
Each year, millions of Americans stay up too late, stress eat, snap pencils, argue with family, search for errant receipts, and double-check their math as they complete their Federal income tax returns.The National Archives doesn't have your IRS tax forms or returns, but we have lots of related records!
To help our fellow Americans, and in recognition of April’s status as “Stress Awareness Month,” we're sharing “fun facts” on tax history!
The first income tax was in 1862, a Civil War fundraiser for the Union cause. It was a flat 3% on annual incomes over $800.
In 1894, Congress enacted a 2% tax on annual incomes over $4,000, but the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional.
The first tax form 1040, circa 1913, was only 4 pages, including a single page of instructions (by contrast, today’s instructions for the basic form total are 106 pages).
In 1913, fewer than 1% of Americans owed income tax!
Notorious gangster/criminal Al Capone wasn't convicted of violating Prohibition -- he was indicted for tax evasion.
The IRS enforced Prohibition! The Bureau of Prohibition was a unit under the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
“Lady Hooch Hunter” was one of the most famous Prohibition agents (aka Daisy Simpson).
Taxes were once due in March, not April! In 1913, the deadline was March 1, changed to March 15 in 1918, and then April 15 in 1955.
IRS film on data processing, a "new dimension" in tax administration! NARA ID 11900.
Al Capone GUILTY of tax evasion! 10/17/1931. National Archivews at Chicago, NARA ID 628966. See Capone's criminal case file online.
WW II poster outlines value of tax deductions. NARA ID 514541.
Cartoon by Clifford Berryman, 9/4/1937, NARA ID 6012171.
Cartoon by Clifford Berryman, 7/7/1937. NARA ID 6012166).
How Computers Changed the Tax Game, Unwritten Record post by Richard Green.
Income Tax Records of the Civil War Years, Prologue
1798 Federal Direct Tax Records for Connecticut, Prologue
Researcher Talk—Tax and Spend: The Welfare State, Tax Politics and the Limits of American Liberalism
