Taxation conversation on the anniversary of income tax
Taxation conversation on the anniversary of income tax
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On February 25, 1913, Secretary of State Philander Knox certified the 16th amendment to the constitution, allowing the federal government to tax income. In the age of the robber baron, the progressive income tax was seen as a way to level out the playing field. Indiana University legal historian Ajay Mehrotra explains how it happened and why our attitudes about taxation have changed.