History and Administration of Federal Income Tax
Every chapter assumes the use of Publication 17: Your Federal Income Tax, Internal Revenue Service. In succeeding chapters, a list will be provided of additional publications and forms needed to understand the material and to complete the chapter questions and problems.
Overview
In the United States, we rely on the income tax as the major source of federal revenues. Not every person agrees with every purpose for which tax dollars are spent or the amount that is spent, but the funds are necessary for our national defense, economic well being and social welfare. We also may disagree on how we should obtain the funds. The income tax has become an important source but there are difficulties in administering the tax and maintaining a sense of fairness of who is paying and how much. Proposals to modify the income tax system to make it “flat” (fewer tax rates and fewer deductions) and proposals to radically change to another type of tax (sales or ad valorem) have and are being discussed, but they have not made much headway. As a student and a taxpayer, you need to learn the current federal individual income tax system. That knowledge will allow you to pay just your fair share. If you have an interest in changing our tax system, the knowledge you gain can be used to make it more efficient and effective.
