Any American with a pulse knows that individuals and businesses pay a plethora of taxes. But it wasn't always that way. Even though taxes have been around since before the inauguration of the United States, they used to be much simpler.

Plus, there wasn't always a federal tax deadline. Crazy, right?!

One of the oldest American taxes is the estate tax. Enacted in 1797, the estate tax was repealed and reinstituted more than once over the years, usually as a way to finance wars.

You might think we’ve had taxes since the Revolutionary War, but it wasn’t until the 1920s and ’30s when the US enacted many new taxes; it was tax-free for most of its earlier history.

Even though taxes weren't always so high, the state of taxation around the globe has snowballed to the point that tax revenues now account for more than 80% of total government revenue in around half the world's countries. That’s a huge amount of government income through taxation!

But how did deadlines come to be? What happens if you file your taxes after April 15? And how can you extend that deadline?

Hold onto your hats, because we’re about to jump into all those juicy tax-related questions!

More About the History of Taxes in America

We know from the first source cited above that the modern estate tax came about in 1916.

Then the gift tax, which is the amount of tax owed on a gift of money or property from one living person to another, came almost 10 years later in 1924. Corporate income taxes were implemented in 1909, whereas the federal income tax was enacted in 1913.

Sales taxes and social security taxes came about during that heavily taxed period in American history in the 1920s and ’30s.

The alternative minimum tax, another type of federal income tax used to make sure everyone pays their share of taxes (we’re talking about those high earners we all know), was enacted in 1978. To calculate taxable income after allowed deductions, this parallel system uses its own set of rules. It’s kind of like calculating income tax twice, then paying whichever one is higher to the government. They’re clever that way!

While the AMT was created to stop taxpayers from avoiding their "fair share" of taxes, because it isn't indexed to inflation, more taxpayers have become subjected to it over the years. This has resulted in mounting calls for the IRS to either reform or eliminate the AMT tax altogether.

Why Is the Deadline to File Taxes April 15?

The deadline to file taxes wasn't always April 15. On February 3, 1913, Congress passed the 16th Amendment, which created the income tax.
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