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 Civil War Income Tax, Taxable Goods, & etc.
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| Author | Topic: Civil War Income Tax, Taxable Goods, & etc. |
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bascall Posts: 1629 |
posted 05-05-2008 12:01 AM
  
After having a look at a lot of the information that is available in the Income Tax Records of the Civil War Years, it was interesting to note which items people commonly possessed at that time that were subject to taxation. From one city to the next, most were taxed on individual income, gold watches, carriages, silver plate and silverware, and pianofortes. Frederick Marquand as an example paid $5,456.70 income tax in 1865. That same year he also paid taxes on three carriages, a watch and two hundred and thirteen troy ounces of silver plate. Frederick Marquand was the exception as far as the amount of tax he paid but not the categories concerned. IP: Logged |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 05-05-2008 12:47 AM
How did the tax on silver (or carriages) work? Would you pay once when you bought the silver, like a sales tax? Or would you pay annually as long as you owned it? IP: Logged |
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bascall Posts: 1629 |
posted 05-05-2008 02:09 AM
Silver plate was taxed annually at five cents per troy ounce (gold plate was at fifty cents). Carriages were also taxed annually according to their value at between one and six dollars. Tax was paid on goods as long as they were owned, and these were not sales taxes. The Civil War tax system is not as straight forward as might be expected for an early method of taxation, and unfortunately many of its precepts carried over into the system that was legislated as a result of the thirteenth ammendment. IP: Logged |
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June Martin Forum Master Posts: 1326 |
posted 05-06-2008 08:28 PM
Glad to know we're not the only generation with an indecipherable tax code. So much for tax simplification. IP: Logged |
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argentum1 Posts: 602 |
posted 05-06-2008 10:15 PM
I remember simple tax forms. When I was 18 I remember the 1040 short form. It was the size of a long envelope. It asked basic info and then you looked up how much you made went across the line for tax liability. Then signed your name and that was that. I just went online to look at the 1040 EZ form. My God, it looks like the old long form from years ago. Maybe that is why it is called 'The Infernal Revenue Service'. Sorry about getting off the track. IP: Logged |
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June Martin Forum Master Posts: 1326 |
posted 05-07-2008 08:24 PM
Tax systems have historically been used for the purposes of social engineering. Sometimes it works well and sometimes not. The engineering aspect is what makes it all so interesting to me. The Civil War example given by bascall seems to indicate that taxes were levied based on your level of assets as well as your income level. I don't know what if any loopholes there were during that time, but it sure seems equitable at face value. The more you have, the more you pay. So logical it couldn't possibly work today or could it? [This message has been edited by June Martin (edited 05-07-2008).] IP: Logged |
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