The history of tax reform

Republicans want to overhaul the tax code. How did previous reforms lead to the system we have today? Here's everything you need to know: How has the tax code evolved? Our modern tax system has its roots in the Civil War. To help fund the Union war effort, President Abraham Lincoln signed the first federal income tax into law in 1861, a temporary flat tax of 3 percent on annual incomes above $800. The next year, Congress created what would become the Internal Revenue Service. The...