Who made and who collects the 'Federal Income Tax'?

Question

Did the Congress create the Federal Income Tax? If not, who started the Federal Income Tax? Did it get passed by Congress?

What is the process in which Congress, or anyone else, has to go through in order to create a new tax that may be legally collected from the people?

Where can I find out more information about this tax?

Thank you, your help is greatly appreciated :-)

Answer 1

Yes, Congress passed the Federal Income Tax.  In order to collect ANY tax, implementing legislation is required and ONLY Congress can do that.  

The specific law that governs the Federal Income Tax (and a few others such as Gift Taxes and Estate Taxes) is Title 26 of the US Code.  Google it for plenty of hits.  One of the top hits you'll get is to the Cornell University Law School Library.  It's one of the best though there are plenty of others as well.

All bills start in the House of Representatives.  The Senate or the Executive Branch can propose legislation but until it's introduced in the House, it can't go anywhere.

Article 1, Section 8 of The US Constitution grants Congress the power to lay and collect taxes.  It doesn't say what kind of taxes; it leaves that up to Congress.  The Constitution also lays out how laws are passed by Congress and become law, with or without the consent of The President.  Give it a read to see how things work.

Any basic course in US Government will also help you greatly in your quest.

Answer 2

Yes, Congress created the income tax.  I believe that there was an amendment to the US Constitution first.

It is the same process to get a new tax passed as any other law.  A bill gets made in either the House of Representatives or Senate.  Once passed in Congress, it goes the President for his signature.  It gets reviewed by the Supreme Court to make sure it is not Unconstitutional before it becomes law.

There are too many resources to name, search for "history of united states income tax."

Answer 3

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_inc... for a comprehensive treatment.

Answer 4

Yes, Congress created it, and votes on any changes each year.  The IRS is the govenment agency charged with collecting it.

As to new taxes, the House and Senate have to pass them, and the president signs them or vetoes it in which  case congress can try to override the veto.  For local taxes, there are a variety of authorities that can create them.

Answer 5

The US Treasury is responsible for the assessment and collection of income taxes.  The constitution was amended in 1913 by congress and signed by teddy roosevelt to legalize income taxation.  the current tax code was signed by Dwight Eishenhower in 1954 and is titled the Internal Revenue Code.  

The subject of taxation is extremely complex.  If you are interested, I would suggest starting out with a course from H&R Block or Jackson-Hewitt or taking some college classes on the subject