No one is thrilled to see taxes coming out of their paycheck. In reality, you might not realize that when it comes to federal taxes, many Americans have it pretty easy today, compared to taxpayers even half a century ago. The government has had its hand out for a share of our money in some form of taxation since before the ink dried on the Declaration of Independence, and it’s taken quite a lot from a select few at some points in our history.
Here's an overview of federal taxation throughout American history.
Taxation in Colonial Days
There were no income taxes, and there was no federal government in the beginning—at least not in America—but the colonists still had the British government to contend with.
Individual colonies made ends meet by taxing a variety of things other than income, such as the mere existence of adult males. Men had to pay a “head” tax in some colonies. Excise taxes, real estate taxes, and occupational taxes were all alive and well before the Revolutionary War as well.1