WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
FEDERAL INCOME TAX
Profile America — Friday, February 3rd. It may be hard to credit, but there used to be a time when the public sphere wasn't filled with squabbling about income tax rates. The familiar noise began 104 years ago today, when the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, authorizing Congress to levy taxes on income. In its first two years, the tax was modest, affecting only a very few citizens and provided only a small part of the government's total revenue. But the need to fund our involvement in World War I moved income taxes to the center of federal finances. In 2015, individuals paid around $1.9 trillion in federal income tax, while state and local income taxes amounted to over $348 billion in that tax year 2015. You can find current data on the country's economy by downloading the 'America's Economy' mobile application at www.census.gov/mobile.
Sources:
16th Amendment/accessed 11/28/2016: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=57
Federal tax collection/accessed 11/28/2016: http://www.usgovernmentrevenue.com/fed_revenue_2016USrn
State and local tax collections/Quarterly Summary of State & Local Tax Revenue
table 2: http://www2.census.gov/govs/qtax/2016/q2t2.xls
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu).
CONTACT: Rick Reed, 301-763-2812; or e-mail: richard.thomas.reed-at-census.gov
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
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