The birth of the income tax

This month marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 16th Amendment, which gave Congress the power to tax American incomes. Unlike the contentious congressional drama in passing the American Taxpayer Relief Act to avert going over the "fiscal cliff," the 16th Amendment was accorded little emotion when it received a thumbs-up from both houses in 1909.

By Thomas V. DiBacco

February 3, 2013