Happy Tax Day 2016!

Happy Tax Day, and congratulations on making it through another tax season.

As you finish up your last few tax-related tasks and before you head out on your much-needed vacation, take a few minutes to read a few fun facts about taxes in the United States and around the world:

1. Tax Day wasn’t always in April! When the current income tax system was made into law in 1913, the date was March 1. In 1918, the date changed to March 15. It was finally moved to April 15 in 1955.¹

 

2. The word “tax” is from the Latin word “taxo,” which means “value,” or “assess the worth of.”²

 

3. Tsar Peter I of Russia initiated a beard tax in 1698 in hopes of incentivizing men to be clean-shaven—a look that was popular in Western Europe. It was abolished in 1772.³

 

4. In Wisconsin, disposable diapers are subject to sales tax, but cloth diapers are not.⁴

 

5. In Texas, cowboy boots are exempt from sales tax, but hiking boots are not.⁵

 

6. Since Jimmy Carter’s presidency, every president has release his individual income tax returns.⁶

 

7.In 2015, about 91 percent of tax returns were e-filed, and the IRS expects that number to continue to grow each year.⁷

 

8. The country with the highest income tax rate (for a single person with an average salary and no children) is Belgium. This person’s tax rate would come in at about 42.8 percent of his or her salary. Germany comes in second, followed by Denmark.⁸

 

9. Over the entrance of the IRS building in Washington, DC is a quote by the Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., “Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society.”⁹

 

10. In 2004, Maryland imposed a “toilet tax” on residents whose houses are hooked up to sewers leading to treatment plants. The tax was implemented to help restore the polluted Chesapeake Bay.¹⁰

 

I hope you enjoyed these fun Tax Day facts. Now go and enjoy that vacation!

 

Editor’s note: Looking for more workflow management tips? See our other workflow optimization resources on the Tax Pro Center.

References

1 Sung, Jessica. Why Is Tax Day April 15? Fortune Magazine, 15 Apr. 2002. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.

2 Latdict. Kevin D. Mahoney., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.

3 “September 05, 1698 – Beards Gets Taxed.” This Day in History. History Channel, 04 Mar. 2016. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.

4 “Unusual Tax Breaks, Tax Deductions, and Tax Exemptions.” Efile, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.

5 Ibid.

6 “Presidential Tax Returns.” Tax History Project” Tax Analysts, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.

7 “U.S. Taxpayers Efiled More Than 128 Million Returns in 2015.” Complete IRS Efile Statistics. Efile, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.

8 McCarthy, Niall. “The Countries With The Highest Income Tax Rates [Infographic].” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 19 Mar. 2015. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.

9 “Tax Quotes.” Internal Revenue Service, 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.

10 “Maryland Income Taxes and State Tax Forms.” Efile, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.