3 ms·

I can't find any evidence of this: the earliest US income tax was levied for the Civil War, and amounted to a 3% tax on anybody making around $27,000 (in 2022 d

I can't find any evidence of this: the earliest US income tax was levied for the Civil War, and amounted to a 3% tax on anybody making around $27,000 (in 2022 dollars). That's not a particularly "rich" cutoff. Edit: about $27,000[1]. [1]: https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1861?amount=800 https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1861?amount=800

bombcar 4y ago
I think they're referring to the one that was enabled by the amendment.
- woodruffw 4y ago
  Okay. In that case the cutoff was around $80,000 in today's money, which is certainly not poor (but not rich either).
  - cjbgkagh 4y ago
    The difference in the amount of tax has a big effect on post tax money. If it's 45% (city + state + federal + social security etc.) you'd have to make x * (1 - 45%) = $80K * (1 - 3%), solving for x gives $141K which is a big difference.
  - leereeves 4y ago
    Top three percent is fairly rich. > The Revenue Act of 1913 ... established a one percent tax on income above $3,000 per year; the tax affected approximately three percent of the population. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_Act_of_1913 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_Act_of_1913
    - woodruffw 4y ago
      Not in absolute terms: the fact that 97% of Americans in 1913 made less than $80,000 equivalent per year is more a testament to America (and broadly the world's) staggering poverty relative to our current wealth. Put another way: you can't tax destitute people (at least not for long, and not without losing your head), but can absolutely can tax the average American household in 2021[1]. [1]: https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2022/demo/p60-276.html https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2022/demo/p60-27...
      - bombcar 4y ago
        Weren't substantial percentages of the US still on subsistence farming/bartering at the time? It's hard to income tax a society without much income.
      - carlosjobim 4y ago
        Destitute people have always been heavily taxed, since the beginning of civilization. It's called interest on farm loans, rent, work duty, soldier duty, etc.

bombcar 4y ago

I think they're referring to the one that was enabled by the amendment.

woodruffw 4y ago
Okay. In that case the cutoff was around $80,000 in today's money, which is certainly not poor (but not rich either).
- cjbgkagh 4y ago
  The difference in the amount of tax has a big effect on post tax money. If it's 45% (city + state + federal + social security etc.) you'd have to make x * (1 - 45%) = $80K * (1 - 3%), solving for x gives $141K which is a big difference.
- leereeves 4y ago
  Top three percent is fairly rich. > The Revenue Act of 1913 ... established a one percent tax on income above $3,000 per year; the tax affected approximately three percent of the population. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_Act_of_1913 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_Act_of_1913
  - woodruffw 4y ago
    Not in absolute terms: the fact that 97% of Americans in 1913 made less than $80,000 equivalent per year is more a testament to America (and broadly the world's) staggering poverty relative to our current wealth. Put another way: you can't tax destitute people (at least not for long, and not without losing your head), but can absolutely can tax the average American household in 2021[1]. [1]: https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2022/demo/p60-276.html https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2022/demo/p60-27...
    - bombcar 4y ago
      Weren't substantial percentages of the US still on subsistence farming/bartering at the time? It's hard to income tax a society without much income.
    - carlosjobim 4y ago
      Destitute people have always been heavily taxed, since the beginning of civilization. It's called interest on farm loans, rent, work duty, soldier duty, etc.