The Internal Revenue Service: The Origin Story [No. 86]

When and why did Congress create the Internal Revenue Service?

Professor Kristin Hickman gives a brief history of the origins of the IRS, dating back to the Civil War. New internal taxes were required to fund the war and a bureaucracy was created to administer them. Professor Hickman explains that the power of the IRS grew gradually over time, mirroring the growth of other federal agencies in the mid to late twentieth century.

Professor Kristin E. Hickman is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Harlan Albert Rogers Professor in Law at the University of Minnesota Law School.

* * * * *

As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Subscribe to the series’ playlist:

[leahmelissa]

What I wanna know is "who runs it?" Like who is at the very top of the IRS. I feel like they are VERY secretive.

[grogdizzy]

The IRS should be abolished along with all the internal federal taxes that made it necessary. The federal government is too big. Our forefathers would be ashamed

[davidjenkins]

First it was to finance the war, and then they were like, “hey, now we have a legal way to still citizens money so let’s roll with this shit after the war”

[archianosohliya]

This is like a subscription...childhood days were like a free trial version

[GhostyMist]

If an apocalypse happens and there’s people still alive, those IRS guys better watch out. I’m sure a lot of people aren’t happy with them.

[nolanrueckert]

They make money by taking other people's money

[davidgagnon]

Federal Taxation should be Regulated and Mandated by Each State, Province, County, City or Town.
period
Therefore WE THE PEOPLE DECIDE WHERE WE Choose or DECIDE To LIVE, RESIDE or PURSUE EXCHANGE of COMMERCE or GOODS in GOOD FAITH for MONEYS.

[ziggenx]

Watch the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871. The 16th Amendment was NOT ratified by the necessary states as it violates the Constitution Clause of no direct taxes. Despite this, congress went ahead and taxed people anyway. Government was able to do this because they reworded the original Constitution, replacing it with their own corporate charter and operated as it's board of director's which gave them the authority they needed to ratify the amendment. Since 1913, none of the income taxes collected by the IRS has gone to the Federal Government because they owe so much debt it will never be paid off. There is no law at all that says Americans must pay a direct unapportioned tax on their labor/work to Federal Government, only their respective states.

[-gz]

But the IRS is a corporation, NOT an agency of government. It’s privately owned!

[Carpatouille]

I'm here because of Joker's fear of the IRS

[dmana]

Honestly, I think the IRS need to change. They think that it's not our money, it's the government's money even if we work hard for it.

[betterthanemril]

This country literally gave birth to a monster

[bethbartlett]

Federal Income Tax, **"established from the earlier Federal Gains Tax" which was originally a Corporate Gains Tax'.*
This because the rapid growth of Industry was overwhelmingly a hardship of costs to Towns and Cities as they had to expand roads, water, sewage, electricity, to accommodate the Industries and a vast number of the costs necessary to meet their size and needs. It created immediate roads issues. The wear and congestion, a variety of pollutants stressed the water and air systems, and the economy often underwent an imbalance, causing private shops and businesses to lose employees.

Itvisnt called a Workinng, or Workers Tax, and all the Profits of the Corporations managed to get their Workers to pay what should be paid by the Profit Margin of the Corporations.

There are a host of facts the Public is clueless on, and a *host of Private Corporations that own or Have Management Contracts to run Agencies and other Government affiliated Businesses.*

Federal Reserve Bank *Corporation"
(Was the responsibility of the US Treasury, )
Established Birth Certificate System (Tracking if Births, generation's education, professions, and "they assign a value amount to them and using the Number Printed on the Form, they are traded daily on the NYSE. Death. Certificate corresponding removes them from the process.

(I suspect the assigned values vary based on who you are, past family, education, profession, income., gender, marriages, births, etc. Adding growth value like Houses and Hotels in Monopoly. Giving the system a type of variables ⬆⬇ for the added gaming and gambling influences to give the investors greater avenues of potentials for earnings, and for ease in selling shares. This is my own area of potentials, I'd he interested in knowing how many of these points are accurate.)
The Security Agencies and IRS are corporations and/or Managem ent Contracts.

You can bet, the individual and family whom own the Federal Reserve are the Owners"
The IRS inbound payments get processes through the Bank 9f England.

What would our forefathers say about this? They already did, see Jeffersonx writings on the subject.

These are "the Powers that be" and if I told you even the most general of what they have done and how they did/do it, it would sound like fiction, but it isn't.

JFK, Bobby, JFK JR, Lincoln, Garfield, others in Gov positions.
CIA has been connected to them since its inception and establisjhment by Prescott Bush. Jr's grandfather.

They made insane profits on the Twin Towers/911.

They own the 'Associated Press/AP" and through partners, subsidiaries, individual family members, and allues, they owncountless Corps and Groups, each supporting another in some Impt way.

The control the MS News Media with allies like Rupert Murdoch.

That's your Balfour Declaration Benefactors.

[Im_Jaaylen]

I only know one individual who's actually more powerful then the IRS..

Jesus.🙏🏾

[freeinhabitant]

read "The creature from jekyll island" by G. Edward Griffin

[herbertaponte]

IRS did not have millionaires when created. A central banking system was NOT part of US Constitution. These are opposites. Lawyers are needed at IRS, not advocates, just like at the FED and the Treasury Departments!

[bobparsonsartist]

Exactly when was the bureau of internal revenue created? A commissioner was named but when was the office created?

[DVTOM]

So then what happens if a foreign country declares war on America and refuses to pay us? Who stores all this incoming tariff money for emergencies such as that and what happens to American economy if all those countries band against us? Goo dies but more is needed. Americans should contribute some into it as an insurance policy but nowhere near as much as we do now. Taxes are on EVERYTHING no matter what you buy now.

[sta]

"I'm crazy enough to take on batman but, the IRS? thank you."

[tomjeff]

Did the states return the ratification documents to the congress? That's a huge controversy that was swept under the rug.