The First Income Tax

5 August 1861  

On this date in 1861...

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed and levied the first nationalincome tax as a source of revenue to replace that lost as Southern states seceded. The tax was 3% of all incomes over $800 and was later ruled unconstitutional. However, the taxes paid were not refunded.

Other Years:

• 1570 - A Spanish expedition intending to start a colony on Chesapeake Bay in Virginia was forced by local Indians to abandon the effort.
• 1864 - The Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama.
• 1999 – The St. Louis Cardinals’ Mark McGwire hit his 500th career home run and also set the record for the fewest at-bats to hit the 500 home run mark.
• 2011 - Juno was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a mission to Jupiter. It was the first solar-powered spacecraft to go to Jupiter.

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