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
Working Party on the Reorganisation of the Income Tax Act 1976 established initially to oversee the rewrite process, but from 2004 it was also tasked with determining whether there are errors (or "unintended legislative changes") in the rewriting of the Income Tax Acts. The Panel was disestablished in 2014. Its chairs were Colin Blair (1995–2003), Sir Ivor Richardson (2003-08) and David McLay (2008–14). Working Party on the Reorganisation of the Income Tax Act 1976 The Working Party on the Reorganisation of the Income Tax Act 1976 was a committee appointed by the New Zealand government to advise on the appropriate reorganisation of the income tax legislation. The Working Party was set