HANDY COMPARISON CHART: The Income Tax Then... and Now

By ATR

As Americans finish yet another tax filing season, let’s take a look at the 104-year history of the income tax:

• In 1913 the top marginal income tax bracket was 7% -- today it is 39.6%. 
• In 1913 the marginal income tax bracket range was 1% - 7%. Today the range is 10% - 39.6%.
• In 1913 there were 400 pages in the tax code. Today there are 74,608 pages in the code.
• In 1913 the family standard deduction was $98,425.45 in today’s dollars. The family standard deduction now is just $12,600.
• When the income tax started in 1913, only 358,000 Americans had to file a 1040. Today 148,606,578 Americans file 1040s.

"The American income tax is perhaps the most dramatic example of how government grows at the expense of liberty,"

Read more at ATR.org.