Legal history of income tax in the United States Legal history of income tax in the United States Taxation of income in the United States has been practised since colonial times. Some southern states imposed their own taxes on income from property, both before and after Independence. The Constitution empowered the federal government to raise taxes at a uniform rate throughout the nation, and required that "direct taxes" be imposed only in proportion to the Census population of each state. Federal income tax was first introduced under the Revenue Act of 1861 to help pay for the Civil War. It was renewed in later years and reformed in 1894
Hall income tax there were bills to raise state government revenue by reducing the fraction of the Hall tax that is distributed to local governments. The proposals for major changes to the Hall tax failed because of the lack of alternative sources of revenue. The Hall tax is Tennessee's only tax on personal income; the state does not levy a general personal income tax. As of 1974, the Tennessee Supreme Court had consistently held that the state constitution authorized only three types of taxes: privilege taxes, "ad valorem" property taxes, and a tax on income from interest and dividends. In decisions in 1932