When most of us think of taxes, we picture paperwork, spreadsheets, and a mountain of forms to file by April 15th. Taxes can feel like the ultimate bureaucratic headache—mundane, necessary, but hardly revolutionary. Yet, history shows us that taxes have often been at the heart of dramatic change,
Luca Pacioli and the Enduring Legacy of Double-Entry Accounting
While accounting is often viewed as a practical business tool, its origins are steeped in history and intellectual innovation. To understand the roots of modern accounting, we turn to Luca Pacioli, the "Father of Accounting," whose revolutionary work in the late 15th century still resonates
A Brief History of Taxation: From Scutage to the Modern Era
Taxation, the practice of levying charges on individuals or businesses to generate revenue for government services, has been a fundamental aspect of human civilization for millennia. Its origins can be traced back to ancient societies, where tribute was paid to rulers and gods. Early Forms of
Some Of The Strangest Taxes In History
Taxes have been around for centuries, as common as the trading of goods or services. However, while we've grown accustomed to taxes on our money, strange, and often bizarre, taxes have been around over the course of history. Of course, many of these were unfair, typically benefitting monarchs and
The Tariff Which Shook History
As has been noted previously, substantive changes in tax policy are often closely tied to big changes in the social order. And the tie is not unidirectional, resulting solely from a tendency for tax measures to provoke heated reaction from a population. Sometimes a social change – such as a war –
How War Shaped Modern U.S. Taxation
The idea that war has in some sense impacted tax policy throughout our nation’s history should strike no one as being controversial. War and taxes have always had a close relationship, not only within the United States but across the whole globe. In fact, it is probably the case that taxes have
The Rise of the Progressive Federal Income Tax System
Before we dive into the details of the Revenue Act of 1913 and the progressive tax system, let’s briefly go over what we’ve learned about the history of the income tax. During the War Between the States, the U.S. government imposed the first income tax in order to fund the Union army. This tax –
The Birth & Growth of the Income Tax in the United States
Most people are oblivious of the fact that the United States has not always consistently imposed an income tax. Most people assume that the Internal Revenue Service has existed in its current form forever. Though it is false, this assumption is not without reason: national governments have a