Question

What is the origin and history of income tax? Paragraphs Please.

Answer 1

The taxing income idea is a modern invention which presupposes many things: a money market, reasonably accurate accounting, a common understanding of revenues, expenditures and earnings, and an organized system with clear records. Such preconditions did not exist for most of the history of civilization, so taxes were focused on other variables. Taxes on property, social position, and means of production ownership (usually land and slaves) were all common. Practices such as tithing or first-fruit offering have existed since ancient times and can be considered a precursor to income tax, but they lacked precision and were certainly not based on a net increase definition.

Egypt is generally attributed to the first income tax. Public taxation consisted of small assessments of owned wealth and property in the early days of the Roman Republic. In normal circumstances, the tax rate was 1 percent and in cases such as war would sometimes rise to as much as 3 percent. Such modest taxes were levied on land, houses, and other properties, slaves, livestock, personal belongings, and monetary wealth. The more property an individual has, the more tax they pay. Personal taxes were collected.

In the year 10 AD, Xin Dynasty Emperor Wang Mang introduced an unparalleled income tax for practitioners and skilled labor at a rate of 10 percent of profits. Thirteen years later he was overthrown in 23 AD and earlier practices were restored during the subsequent restored Han Dynasty.

The Saladin tithe instituted by Henry II in 1188 to raise money for the Third Crusade was one of the first recorded income taxes. The tithe required that each layperson in England and Wales be taxed one tenth of their personal income and mobile property.