Taxes

Nobody likes paying taxes. Even so, most people have probably never considered telling the Internal Revenue Service they can’t pay because their social security number is heretical. Here, we collect the most creative excuses Americans have made for evading their taxes. 1. I ...read more

While some trade war tactics have led to revolutions (Boston Tea Party), others have failed miserably (Smoot-Hawley Act). Here’s a look at seven U.S. trade wars that made an impact—for better or for worse—on our country. 1. The Boston Tea Party Major players: American colonists, ...read more

Since 1950, individual income taxes have been the primary source of revenue for the U.S. federal government. Together with payroll taxes (used to fund social programs like Social Security and Medicare), income taxes amount to roughly 80 percent of all federal revenue, and are the ...read more

The Whiskey Rebellion was a 1794 uprising of farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government. Following years of aggression with tax collectors, the region finally exploded in a confrontation that resulted in President ...read more

Sometimes history is made by presidents, revolutionaries, artists, or groundbreaking scientists. But at least once it was altered by a pension benefits consultant sitting at his desk in Pennsylvania studying the tax code in the late 1970s. Today, Ted Benna is known as the “father ...read more

Some presidents took some significant tax cuts while others proved to be surprisingly generous with charitable givings. Here are six surprising things we’ve learned about past presidents from their taxes. 1. Franklin D. Roosevelt: 1933-45 FDR didn’t release his tax returns, but ...read more