The Origins of the American Income Tax: The Revenue Act of 1894 and Its AftermathWhy do critics want to pull up the income tax by its roots? Why do we have an income tax altogether especially if its principles are no longer workable and the tax no longer serves its intended purpose? Or are the roots, in fact, still viable? This compelling book seeks answers to those questions in long forgotten archives of tax history. Drawing on rare records from Congress, Richard J. Joseph demonstrates how the idea of relating taxes to