HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE FIRST INCOME TAX

It was on this day in 1861 that Abraham Lincoln signed the first income tax into law. It taxed imports, provided for a direct land tax, and imposed a tax of 3% on individual incomes over $800 (in current dollars, $18,000). Lincoln could only tax the northern states and the Revenue Act of 1861 lasted only 10 years. The federal income tax returned for good in 1913 with the passage of the 16th Amendment.