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The history of taxes in the united states
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Tax Law and Accounting
Every person, organization, company, or non-profit is subject to the income tax. Income tax refers to those taxes imposed on any money earned during a calendar year. The government taxes our income so it can have enough money to pay for the things we all need. In order to comply with tax laws and regulations, a good understanding of the Federal tax law, its sources and purposes, and the relation with the accounting profession must be achieved.
Congress and the President of the United States are responsible for writing and approving the tax laws. They are also responsible for the federal budget. The budget is how much the government plans to spend on various programs and services. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is responsible for enforcing the tax law, for collecting taxes, for processing tax returns, for issuing tax refunds, and for turning over the money collected to the US Treasury. Then, the Treasury is responsible for paying various government expenses.
The income tax was first developed during the Civil War when the first income tax was imposed. The purpose of the tax was to acquire money to pay for the war debt. After the war, the income tax was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1895 because it was not assigned among the states in conformity with the Constitution. With the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1913, Congress was authorized to impose an income tax without apportionment. Therefore, it resulted in a revenue law that taxed both individual and corporate incomes. "In 1918, during World War I, the top rate of the income tax rose to 77 percent to help finance the war effort. It dropped sharply in the post-war years, down to 24 percent in 1929, and rose again during the Depression. During World War II, Congress introduced payroll withholding and quarterly tax payments." ("Brief History of IRS", para. 3). In October 1986, the President signed into law the Tax Reform Act of 1986. This was perhaps the most massive reform of the U.S. tax system since the beginning of the income tax. With this act, Congress promised individuals and businesses lower tax rates on their income, provided they gave up or reduced many popular income tax deductions. ("An Outline of the American Economy", para. 6)
The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 made additional changes to the tax code providing a modest tax cut.
The first of the Progressive amendments is the 16th Amendment. Approved by the Senate in 1909, it introduced the graduated income tax where a person’s taxes increase relative to his or her income. Specifically, the tax charged 1 percent of incomes over $20,000 and a maximum of 7 percent on incomes over $500,000 (Walter Nugent, p.86). It was brought about after the 2 percent tax on incomes over $4,000 tariff in 1894, and was supported by President Taft, Southern and Western farmers, and the Progressives (Foner, p. 718). They believed respectively that the government should wean off obtaining money from tariffs, and that the income tax should fairly correlate to a person’s income. Moreover, it was believed that the amendment would ameliorate the drastic income disparity, and that it would provide the government with more revenue for its increasing state budgets.
Sixteenth Amendment- Authorization of an Income Tax – Progressives thought this would slow down the rising wealth of the richest Americans by using a sliding or progressive scale where the wealthier would pay more into the system. In 1907, Roosevelt supported the tax but it took two years until his Successor, Taft endorsed the constitutional amendment for the tax. The Sixteenth Amendment was finally ratified by the states in 1913. The origin of the income tax came William J Bryan in 1894 to help redistribute wealth and then from Roosevelt and his dedication to reform of corporations. I agree with an income tax to pay for all of our government systems and departments, but I believe there was a misfire with “redistributing wealth.” The redistribution is seen in welfare systems whereby individuals receive money to live. This is meant to be a temporary assistance, but sadly, most that are in the system are stuck due to lack of assistance in learning how to escape poverty. There are a lot of government funded programs, but there is no general help system to help lift people up and stay up, so there continues a cycle of
...ession. Among many spending proposals Hoover proposed one that was notable was The Revenue Act of 1932. This increased personal income taxes noticeably, but also brought back a multiplicity of taxes that had been used during World War I.
Tax Reform act of 1986. The tax reform act of 1986 chopped taxes, and indexed
Taxation is a system that the government uses to gain money, they gain this money to support the government and provide public services. The government may secure their profits without taxation from natural resources, products, or services. (Taxation 1)
In “The Federalist No. 21” Alexander Hamilton addresses the citizens of New York concerning the issue of taxation. Hamilton (1787) writes, “It is a single advantage of taxes on articles of consumption, that they contain in their own nature a security against excess. They prescribe their own limit; which cannot be exceeded without defeating the end proposed, that is, an extension of the revenue.” The advice given by Hamilton in 1787 is the backbone of the FairTax Act. The FairTax or bill H.R. 25 is not a flat tax or a VAT tax. It is a tax on consumption. The FairTax is a twenty-three percent sales tax levied on all new goods and services. The FairTax replaces all current federal taxes imposed on the people of the United States. This includes all personal and corporate income taxes. The twenty-three percent tax is not imposed on old or used items. It is applied only to new items. The FairTax is levied on all services, even on doctor’s visits. Educational institutions are the only exceptions to the rule. The FairTax is revenue neutral, meaning it provides the same amount of federal income as the current system. To prevent the FairTax from becoming an undue burden on the poor, a monthly prebate is paid to every family (Americans For Fair Taxation 1007). The prebate is equal to the amount of taxes a family pays on all purchases up to the poverty level. For instance, if a family was estimated to spend $26,400 a year on basic necessities, based on a 23% sales tax, their annual tax burden would be $6,072. This tax burden is paid to the family in monthly installments at the beginning of each month. With this prebate, all families living under the poverty level will pay no federal taxes (Boortz & Linder 2005). Arguably, the most app...
The current tax policy in the United States is very confusing and it is very costly for our government to administer it. It is in the best interest of our country and its citizens to revise or replace our current tax policy.
When George Washington was elected president, even though he was reluctant, he worked hard to ensure peace in the nation. Washington and his Cabinet knew that taxes were important, and the men were very cautious when passing them. The government was new, and could be overthrown just like the colonists did in the Revolutionary War. Also, the French Revolution was occurring, and Cabinet members didn’t want their government to be criticized to the point of rebellion and violence. Washington and his Cabinet were careful, passing just the Excise Tax on luxury items. The men knew the danger of taxes, but today, that notion has seemed to be pushed aside. The taxes in America are high, and just getting higher, much to the disgust and anger of Americans.
Taxes are one of the most controversial, yet important factors that contribute to a successful and stable government. Taxes are defined as, "a contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income or profits or they are added to the costs of goods and services." These taxes help fund many government operations and they truly keep our country and government running. Taxes are often opposed and many people just don't see the need for them.
Taxes in the United States include payroll taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and a multitude of others. These taxes may be imposed on individuals, business entities, estates, trusts, or other forms of organizations. In general, there is a lot of inquiry on the current tax system. With endless loopholes, a regressed economy, and corruption there has been widespread anger on the current structure of taxation. Consequently, the wealthy have managed to become even richer despite the economic crisis. Furthermore, many taxpayers in the upper class have found loopholes to avoid substantial taxation or otherwise known as tax evasion. (Stewart 2013) Tax evasion has only grown over the years and with the national debt has become a major issue. What is more, is the intense complexity of the entire taxation process. Addressing all the issues and problems regarding the taxation structure is a meticulous and arduous process. With this in mind, politicians from both parties have tried to address individual issues within the taxation paradigm. Being that the United States has the highest corporate tax in the globe, politicians have tried to change policy regarding taxation on businesses. (Sullivan 2013) How...
According to Accounting Theory: Contemporary Accounting Issues by Evans, accountants have developed two alternative approaches to accounting for income taxes, which are the cash method and the allocation method. The cash method is described as a simple and direct approach. The amount of income taxes actually paid for the year is reported on the Income Statement. The amount comes from the firm's income tax return and fit is not adjusted in any way. Therefore, the firm's actual transaction to record its income tax liability is the basis for the amount of the income tax expense reported on the Income Statement. The allocation method is a bit different. The actual amount of tax that is paid in the year is ignored when it comes to reporting income tax expense on the Income Statement. The amount of income tax expense reported on the Income Statement is based on the on the income tax rate that the firm pays, which is applied to the amount of pretax income. This makes the Income Statement perfectly consistent with the before-tax income. Using the allocation method makes it look like all items on the Income Statement based on the same method.
ABC LTD COMPREHENSIVE INCOME STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2012 NOTE 2012 Revenue 2 828,500 Cost of sales 3 (460,000) Gross profit 368,500 Other income 4 2,500 Operating expenses 5 361000 Profit before income tax 10000 Income tax expense (30%) 3,000 Profit for the year 7000 Other comprehensive income change in revaulation surplus 38500 Other comprehensive income for the year, net of tax 38500 Total comprehensive income for the year 45500 ABC LTD STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2012 NOTES 2012 ASSETS Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 6 100500 Trade and other receivables 7 45,200 Inventories 8 87700 Other current assets 9 7000
Taxation is a compulsory levy imposed on the income, value of goods and services of individuals, partners and companies by the government. It is can be said to be an approach of imposing tax on the citizen. This imposition of tax, is expected to yield income which should be utilized in the provision of both basic and substantial infrastructural amenities, both social and security, as well as creates conditions for the economic well-being of the society at large.
Fiscal Affairs Department of IMF in 2009 declared that a statement of the main central government tax expenditures should be required as part of the budget or related fiscal documentation, indicating the public policy purpose of each provision, its duration, and the intended beneficiaries. In addition, there is an area of the budget that routinely escapes rigorous inspection. This is the large allocation of state resources through the use of tax expenditures which reduce the taxes that might otherwise be collected. The tax expenditure report supplements the annual or biennial budget document (Benker, 1986).