Henry David Thoreau was on of the first if not thee first man to practice passive resistance. Thoreau chose to spend a night in jail rather than pay what he considered an unfair tax. Thoreau acted this way in order to protest the United States's war with Mexico and slavery for which the monies from the tax would proceed. Thoreau was jailed but was released the next day when an unidentified person came to the jail to pay his debt. This angered Thoreau because he had hoped to use the opportunity to raise awareness to his cause. Nonetheless, he reluctantly left his jail cell. The experience later inspired Thoreau to write his essay Resistance to Civil Government, which was later renamed in which Civil Disobedience, in which he argues that it is sometimes necessary to disobey the law in order to protest unjust government actions. This is such a powerful lesson even today. If you can find sometime to read the essay it is about 16 pages.
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United States revenue stamps for the motor vehicle use tax were used from February 1942 through June 1946. During World War II, there were serious wartime shortages, including gasoline. The US government imposed the motor vehicle use tax to encourage people to use public transportation and to help pay for the war efforts. The cost for these stamps were 42 cents per month or $5 per year. These stamps were placed on the inside windshield as evidence of the payment of such tax. These stamps were expensive considering the national minimal wage was 52 cents per hour.
Some of the widest range of tax reforms and increases are to start over the next 4 months that generated over 1 billion dollars to the US treasury annually to aid in balancing the budget after major spending on welfare programs for unemployed individuals due to the depression, amongst the large number of new taxes were the New Electricity Tax, and Special Excise Taxes on Soap, Automobile Tires, Chewing Gum, New Admissions Tax at the Movie Theaters and Sports Venues, Gift Tax and Higher Personal Taxes.
June 6, 1932 : The first federal gasoline tax ( All US States had a gas tax prior to this starting with Oregon in 1919 ) was created with the enactment of the Revenue Act of 1932 with a tax of 1 cent/gal.
Fast forward to today we pay 18.40 cents/gal for gasoline and 24.40 cents/gal for diesel. Rumor has it that our current President is backing a plan to increase the Federal tax by 35 cents/gal and dedicate those funds to fund his infrastructure plans (building "The Wall"). |
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Spencer Accounting Group, LLC does not provide investment, tax, legal, or retirement advice or recommendations in these blogs. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. AuthorKeana Spencer is an Accountant, Entrepreneur, and Educator to her clients, with a strong passion. Keana has over 10 years of experience and through her practice, she is a source of knowledge and strategies to her clients. |