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==History==
==History==
===American Civil War (1861–1865)===
===American Civil War (1861–1865)===
In July 1862, during the American Civil War, [[President of the United States|President]] [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed the [[Revenue Act of 1862]], creating the office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue and enacting a temporary [[income tax]] to pay war expenses.
In July 1862, during the American Civil War, [[President of the United States|President]] Abraham Lincoln and [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed the [[Revenue Act of 1862]], creating the office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue and enacting a temporary [[income tax]] to pay war expenses.


The Revenue Act of 1862 was passed as an emergency and temporary war-time tax. It copied a relatively new British system of income taxation, instead of trade and property taxation. The first income tax was passed in 1862:
The Revenue Act of 1862 was passed as an emergency and temporary war-time tax. It copied a relatively new British system of income taxation, instead of trade and property taxation. The first income tax was passed in 1862:
*The initial rate was 3% on income over $800, which exempted most wage-earners.
*The initial rate was 3% on income over $800, which exempted most wage-earners.
*In 1862 the rate was 3% on income between $600 and $10,000, and 5% on income over $10,000.
*In 1862 the rate was 3% on income between $600 and $10,000, and 5% on income over $10,000.
By the end of the war, 10% of [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] households had paid some form of income tax, and the Union raised 21% of its war revenue through income taxes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tax.org/Museum/1861-1865.htm |title=1861–1865: The Civil War |publisher=Tax.org |access-date=August 9, 2010 |archive-date=February 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110216062329/http://www.tax.org/Museum/1861-1865.htm  }}</ref>
By the end of the war, 10% of Union households had paid some form of income tax, and the Union raised 21% of its war revenue through income taxes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tax.org/Museum/1861-1865.htm |title=1861–1865: The Civil War |publisher=Tax.org |access-date=August 9, 2010 |archive-date=February 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110216062329/http://www.tax.org/Museum/1861-1865.htm  }}</ref>


===Post Civil War, Reconstruction, and popular tax reform (1866–1913)===
===Post Civil War, Reconstruction, and popular tax reform (1866–1913)===
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Income taxes evolved, but in 1894 the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] declared the Income Tax of 1894 unconstitutional in ''[[Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.]]'', a decision that contradicted ''[[Hylton v. United States]]''.<ref>3 U.S. 171 (1796).</ref> The federal government scrambled to raise money.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tax.org/Museum/1866-1900.htm |title=1866–1900: Reconstruction to the Spanish–American War |publisher=Tax.org |access-date=August 9, 2010  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100814151715/http://www.tax.org/museum/1866-1900.htm |archive-date=August 14, 2010 }}</ref>
Income taxes evolved, but in 1894 the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] declared the Income Tax of 1894 unconstitutional in ''[[Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.]]'', a decision that contradicted ''[[Hylton v. United States]]''.<ref>3 U.S. 171 (1796).</ref> The federal government scrambled to raise money.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tax.org/Museum/1866-1900.htm |title=1866–1900: Reconstruction to the Spanish–American War |publisher=Tax.org |access-date=August 9, 2010  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100814151715/http://www.tax.org/museum/1866-1900.htm |archive-date=August 14, 2010 }}</ref>


In 1906, with the election of President [[Theodore Roosevelt]], and later his successor [[William Howard Taft]], the United States saw a [[Populism|populist]] movement for tax reform. This movement culminated during then-candidate [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s election of 1912 and in February 1913, the ratification of the [[Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]]:
In 1906, with the election of President Theodore Roosevelt, and later his successor [[William Howard Taft]], the United States saw a [[Populism|populist]] movement for tax reform. This movement culminated during then-candidate [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s election of 1912 and in February 1913, the ratification of the [[Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]]:


{{blockquote|The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.}}
{{blockquote|The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.}}
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From May 22, 2013, to December 23, 2013, senior official at the [[Office of Management and Budget]] [[Daniel Werfel]] was acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue.<ref name="WH press release 2013">[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/16/president-obama-appoints-daniel-werfel-acting-commissioner-internal-reve President Obama Appoints Daniel Werfel as Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue], May 16, 2013</ref> Werfel, who attended law school at the [[University of North Carolina]] and attained a master's degree from [[Duke University]], prepared the government for a potential shutdown in 2011 by determining which services that would remain in existence.<ref name="WH press release 2013"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Daniel Werfel replaces Miller as acting IRS commissioner|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/05/16/daniel-werfel-to-replace-miller-as-acting-irs-commissioner/|access-date=May 16, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 16, 2013|author=Zachary A. Goldfarb|author2=Aaron Blake}}</ref>
From May 22, 2013, to December 23, 2013, senior official at the [[Office of Management and Budget]] [[Daniel Werfel]] was acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue.<ref name="WH press release 2013">[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/16/president-obama-appoints-daniel-werfel-acting-commissioner-internal-reve President Obama Appoints Daniel Werfel as Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue], May 16, 2013</ref> Werfel, who attended law school at the [[University of North Carolina]] and attained a master's degree from [[Duke University]], prepared the government for a potential shutdown in 2011 by determining which services that would remain in existence.<ref name="WH press release 2013"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Daniel Werfel replaces Miller as acting IRS commissioner|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/05/16/daniel-werfel-to-replace-miller-as-acting-irs-commissioner/|access-date=May 16, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 16, 2013|author=Zachary A. Goldfarb|author2=Aaron Blake}}</ref>


No IRS commissioner has served more than five years and one month since Guy Helvering, who served 10 years until 1943.<ref name=bloomberg1>{{cite news|title=IRS Commissioner Says He Doesn't Want Second Term|newspaper=Bloomberg|date=April 5, 2012|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-05/irs-commissioner-says-he-doesn-t-want-second-term.html |last=Rubin |first=Richard }}</ref> The most recent commissioner to serve the longest term was Doug Shulman, who was appointed by President [[George W. Bush]] and served for five years.<ref name="bloomberg1"/>
No IRS commissioner has served more than five years and one month since Guy Helvering, who served 10 years until 1943.<ref name=bloomberg1>{{cite news|title=IRS Commissioner Says He Doesn't Want Second Term|newspaper=Bloomberg|date=April 5, 2012|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-05/irs-commissioner-says-he-doesn-t-want-second-term.html |last=Rubin |first=Richard }}</ref> The most recent commissioner to serve the longest term was Doug Shulman, who was appointed by President George W. Bush and served for five years.<ref name="bloomberg1"/>


===Deputy commissioners===
===Deputy commissioners===
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[[File:NYC IRS office by Matthew Bisanz.JPG|thumb|[[New York City]] field office for the IRS]]
[[File:NYC IRS office by Matthew Bisanz.JPG|thumb|New York City field office for the IRS]]


For fiscal year 2009, the U.S. Congress appropriated spending of approximately $12.624{{spaces}}billion of "discretionary budget authority" to operate the Department of the Treasury, of which $11.522{{spaces}}billion was allocated to the IRS. The projected estimate of the budget for the IRS for fiscal year 2011 was $12.633{{spaces}}billion.<ref>See Table, p. 115, ''Budget of the U.S. Government: Fiscal Year 2011'', Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President of the United States (U.S. Gov't Printing Office, Washington, 2010), at [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/budget.pdf Whitehouse.gov] (PDF)</ref> By contrast, during Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, the IRS collected more than $2.2{{spaces}}trillion in tax (net of refunds), about 44 percent of which was attributable to the individual income tax. This is partially due to the nature of the individual income tax category, containing taxes collected from working class, small business, self-employed, and capital gains. The top 5% of income earners pay 38.284% of the federal tax collected.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=129270,00.html#_mti  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806062016/http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=129270,00.html#_mti |archive-date=August 6, 2012 |title=SOI Tax Stats{{snd}}Individual Income Tax Rates and Tax Shares |website=irs.gov}}</ref><ref>[http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200710/1191980491.html 'New IRS Data Reveals That the Rich Really Do Pay Tax{{snd}}Lots of It'] by John Gaver. Press Release, Actionamerica.org, October 9, 2007.</ref>
For fiscal year 2009, the U.S. Congress appropriated spending of approximately $12.624{{spaces}}billion of "discretionary budget authority" to operate the Department of the Treasury, of which $11.522{{spaces}}billion was allocated to the IRS. The projected estimate of the budget for the IRS for fiscal year 2011 was $12.633{{spaces}}billion.<ref>See Table, p. 115, ''Budget of the U.S. Government: Fiscal Year 2011'', Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President of the United States (U.S. Gov't Printing Office, Washington, 2010), at [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/budget.pdf Whitehouse.gov] (PDF)</ref> By contrast, during Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, the IRS collected more than $2.2{{spaces}}trillion in tax (net of refunds), about 44 percent of which was attributable to the individual income tax. This is partially due to the nature of the individual income tax category, containing taxes collected from working class, small business, self-employed, and capital gains. The top 5% of income earners pay 38.284% of the federal tax collected.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=129270,00.html#_mti  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806062016/http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=129270,00.html#_mti |archive-date=August 6, 2012 |title=SOI Tax Stats{{snd}}Individual Income Tax Rates and Tax Shares |website=irs.gov}}</ref><ref>[http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200710/1191980491.html 'New IRS Data Reveals That the Rich Really Do Pay Tax{{snd}}Lots of It'] by John Gaver. Press Release, Actionamerica.org, October 9, 2007.</ref>
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