Governments are always deceptive about taxation. In the US legal forms of slavery were abolished in the 19th century. But the Revenue Act of 1913 resurrected slavery with the income tax which assigns ownership of part of a person’s labor to the government. Years ago I told the tale of the income tax, and wish I could find it.

The income tax was used to lower tariffs and to cover the lost revenue with a tax on income. The states had to approve an income tax. To secure approval, the schemers brought the tax in with such low rates on such high incomes that only 3 percent of the US population was subject to the income tax. A one percent tax was imposed on incomes above $3,000, a high income in 1913, and a top tax rate of six percent on incomes above $500,000, an unimaginable income in those days.

Once the tax was on the books, World Wars I and II provided ample excuse for widening the tax net and raising the rates. It seems that the people are always outsmarted by governments.