tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post114529062748088040..comments2023-11-03T09:36:22.100-04:00Comments on In From the Cold: Happy Punish the Achievers DayGeorge Smileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049707648660651119noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-1145315981360313332006-04-17T19:19:00.000-04:002006-04-17T19:19:00.000-04:00You would be shocked to learn that after the civil...You would be shocked to learn that after the civil war and prior to 1943, Americans paid all of their taxes at once. Tax withholding was not an option.<BR/><BR/>Imagine if we could abolish tax withholding and force americans to 1) save up their annual tax payment and <BR/>2) in the process see just how much they actually pay and NOT the marginal difference (refund/amount owed).<BR/><BR/>Talk about a revolution! That alone would wake wage earning Americans up (self-employed folks pay estimated quarterly taxes) to the point real reform could happen.<BR/><BR/>From the Treasury website:<BR/><BR/>Another important feature of the income tax that changed was the return to income tax withholding as had been done during the Civil War. This greatly eased the collection of the tax for both the taxpayer and the Bureau of Internal Revenue. However, <B>it also greatly reduced the taxpayer's awareness of the amount of tax being collected, i.e. it reduced the transparency of the tax, which made it easier to raise taxes in the future.</B>usually mellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16684212852170769805noreply@blogger.com