@San Francisco

The Most Tax-Raising US Presidents

Abraham Lincoln, 1861-65

The original taxer-in-chief was none other than Abraham Lincoln, who levied the very first national income tax in American history through the Revenue Act of 1861. The government collected a 3% tax on income over $800 to pay for the Civil War. On July 1, 1862, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was created and authorized to enforce collection. Congress repealed the tax in 1871.