First Income Tax: Congress Finances the Civil War
The U.S. government imposed a 3% tax on incomes exceeding $800 to fund the Civil War effort through the Revenue Act of 1861. This bold fiscal move established the federal income tax as a permanent tool for national finance, even though Congress rescinded it in 1872 after the conflict ended.
August 5, 1861
165 years ago
Key Figures & Places
American Civil War
Wikipedia
income tax
Wikipedia
Federal government of the United States
Wikipedia
United States government
Wikipedia
1872
Wikipedia
Revenue Act of 1861
Wikipedia
American Civil War
Wikipedia
Federal government of the United States
Wikipedia
Income tax
Wikipedia
Revenue Act of 1861
Wikipedia
1872
Wikipedia
What Else Happened on August 5
Guangwu claimed the imperial throne and restored the Han dynasty after the chaotic collapse of Wang Mang's short-lived Xin regime. His military campaigns reunif…
Roman soldiers extinguished the fires still burning from the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, five days after Titus's legions breached th…
Penda of Mercia crushed the Northumbrian forces at the Battle of Maserfield, killing King Oswald and dismembering his body as a gruesome display of pagan domina…
The allied armies of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward the Elder and Earl Aethelred, destroyed the last major Danish raiding force to invade England at Tett…
Ramiro II of León clashes with the forces of Caliph Abd al-Rahman III at Zamora during the Spanish Reconquista. The Battle of Alhandic ended in a Cordoban victo…
Robert Guiscard’s Norman forces encircled Bari, initiating a grueling three-year siege that signaled the end of Byzantine authority in Southern Italy. By starvi…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.