Years ago, the movie Jerry Maguire made this line famous. But today, April 15th, Uncle Sam is spewing the same four words. Show me the money! Hopefully many of you have been keeping receipts throughout the year...in the hopes of getting a great refund check. If you owe this year, my condolences.
But you may be curious how this whole Tax Day came about. Believe it or not, at one point, the day didn't exist! Back in the day, before the Revolutionary War, the government used mostly whisky and tobacco taxes to run our country. After the war, more money was needed...and that's when things changed!
Let's fast forward just a bit. President Grover Cleveland tried to start up regular yearly income taxes in 1894, but the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. For supporters of the income tax, that meant amending the Constitution, which the government finally did in 1913 with the 16th Amendment. From that point on, Congress could legally collect taxes.
There it is in a nutshell. Do you feel better about shelling out your hard earned money now? Probably not, but at least you got a free history lesson on taxes. Happy filing, everyone!
