[Danzig]

no, it really wasn't...it was for war. gee, that sounds familiar.



Even before the United States entered the Second World War, the need for defense spending and support of the countries opposing the Axis led to the passage of two tax laws, one of which in 1940 increased individual and corporation taxes. This would be followed by another tax hike in 1941, reductions in exemption levels, and incomes of $500, facing a bottom tax rate of 23 percent while those with incomes over $1 were raised to 94 percent. By this time, the number of income tax payers had risen from 4 million in 1939 to 43 million in 1945. As had been done during the Civil War, income taxes were once again withheld from incomes and wages, easing the collection of taxes by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

As in previous U.S. History, income taxes were imposed or raised to meet defense needs during wartime. World War I required more revenue that were acquired by raising the income tax rates . The tax laws enacted during the 1900-World War II period would become a permanent part of the income system of the United States