Brief History of
IRS Origin The
roots of IRS go back to the Civil War 1862 - President Lincoln and
Congress created the position of commissioner of Internal Revenue and
enacted an income tax to pay war expenses.
1872 -
Income tax repealed 10 years later.
1894 - Congress revived the
income tax, but the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional the following
year Democratic
Party Platforms under the leadership of three-time Presidential candidate
William Jennings Bryan consistently included an income tax plank. The
progressive wing of the Republican Party also supported the concept.
1909 -
Progressives in Congress again attached a provision for an income tax to a
tariff bill.
Conservatives, hoping to kill the idea for good, proposed a constitutional
amendment enacting such a tax They
believed an amendment would never received ratification by three-fourths of
the states.
Much to their surprise, the amendment was ratified by one state legislature
after another
February 25, 1913 - The 16th amendment
took effect. The author of the Sixteenth Amendment was Senator
Brown from Nebraska Annual Reporting Deadline
1913 - March 1st
1918 - March 15th
1954 - April 15th
Bureau Name 1st name - Bureau of Internal Revenue with
personnel appointed in a patronage system
1954 – major overhaul, agency reorganized - Name changed to Internal Revenue
Service
Career, professional employees
Only the IRS commissioner and chief counsel are selected by the president
and confirmed by the Senate.
1913 – First form
- 4 pages long with wording not easy to understand.
Reporting for 1913 was for income from March 1, when law took affect, to
December 31.
Tax rate was 1% for the first $20,000.
1914 – May – The first case
involving the constitutionality of the amendment reached the Supreme Court
1915
– March 16 Hub – It was predicted some 1000 people in Nebraska would be late
filing their return and would be subject to a penalty of an extra ½%.
1920
– Jan – Tax forms were mailed out and citizens had to determine themselves
if they had enough income to file a return. At
least $1,000 for a single person, widow or widower A
married person living apart from the spouse was considered single.
At least $2,000 for a married man living with his wife
His income included that of his wife and minor children.
The 1040A (short form) could be used for income under $5,000.
In Kearney - A deputy Collector for the Internal Revenue department would
spend a week in early March in an office on the 2nd floor of the Post Office
to provide assistance at no cost.
On this day
120 Years ago on April 24, 1895
– Boom had ended, economic depression in Kearney and nationwide.
Representatives of the
Frank Co. inspected the canal going the entire length by boat. Water used by
the cotton mill did not drain much from the canal.
An Omaha man, representing
the Buttermilk Chewing Gum company was in Kearney staying at the Brunswick
Hotel.
It was
time to renew the liquor licenses for another year. The cost of the license
was $1,000.
Saloon keepers asked for a reduction in the fee. They said their businesses
had suffered just like all the other businesses in Kearney so they were
entitled to the same consideration. City
Council sent the matter to the license committee.
They did some checking and found no disorder due to the sale of liquor So they
agreed to reduce the fee to $850 if all the saloon men agreed.
City Council met - Only 3
saloon men appeared so the council could not do business. Council said if
the saloon men do not agree with this fee, there will not be a reduction of
the fee.