Saturday, April 14th

Five Firsts For Tax Day

It’s mid-April, and we all know what that means, don’t we?

“I’m proud to be paying taxes in the United States.
The only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money.”
—–Arthur Godfrey

For Americans, Tax Day isn’t exactly a holiday. It falls annually on April 15, the deadline to file U.S. federal income tax returns. When the date falls on a weekend (like this year) or an official federal holiday, the deadline is extended to the next business day. Which means in 2012, tax returns are due on April 17th.

To cheer you up while you wrestle with the forms and figures – it’s estimated that Americans as a whole spend 7.6 billion hours on their taxes – here are Five Firsts for Tax Day:

First U.S. Federal Income Tax: The United States government passed the Revenue Act in 1861 due to the start of the Civil War, which would eventually cost an estimated $2.5 million per day. The Act lapsed after the end of the war, but in 1913, Congress passed the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, allowing the federal government to levy taxes.

First Whistleblower to Pocket a Reward: From the IRS website – “The IRS Whistleblower Office pays money to people who blow the whistle on persons who fail to pay the tax that they owe. If the IRS uses information provided by the whistleblower, it can award the whistleblower up to 30 percent of the additional tax, penalty and other amounts it collects.” The first whistleblower to claim a reward under this program, first set up in 2006, received $4.5 million.

First Federal Tax Code: One of the things to come out of the Revenue Act of 1913 was a federal tax code – all 400 pages of it. Nowadays, the federal tax code rounds up to a stunning 70,000 pages!

First Federal Income Tax Form: Another innovation for the forward-thinking government of 1913 – the pre-printed federal income tax form. Form 1040 was four pages + one page of instructions. Taxpayers used the included tables to calculate their liability themselves. The draft of the form was created by a woman, Nina Wilcox Putnam, an author, screen-writer, and yes, an accountant. Today, more than 480 different tax forms are available.

First U.S. President to File Federal Income Tax: President Warren G. Harding in 1923 became the first American president to file a federal income tax return. He owed $18,000.

Greeting Card Universe’s collection of custom Tax Day cards lets you commiserate with a friend, give a family member a much-needed smile at a stressful time, or send a timely reminder to your clients.

What Are People Saying About Greeting Card Universe?
“The cards I have purchased are great! They are so fitting for the occasion and the people receiving them have been very complimentary. The service is fine and I will continue to buy from Greeting Cards all year long.” Nell D. Hallisey, April 7, 2012

© Copyright 2000-2014 Greeting Card Universe Privacy Policy