Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

8 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

9 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

1 day ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

1 day ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

1 day ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

1 day ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

1 day ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

1 day ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

1 day ago
You Have Two Extra Days to Pay Your Taxes. And Take This Quiz.
Inside-Sources
By InsideSources.com
Published 7 years ago on
April 9, 2018

Share

“Tax Day,” the day when U.S. individual tax returns are due, is usually April 15. This year Americans get until April 17 to file their returns because April 15 falls on a Sunday and April 16 is Emancipation Day in Washington, marking President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Compensated Emancipation Act on April 16, 1862.

Roger L. Beckett

Taxes, of course, are almost as old as human civilization and the ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and Chinese all engaged in some form of taxation. Taxes were a part of Colonial America from its earliest days, and they were, in part, what eventually caused the Revolutionary War.

The quiz below, from the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University in Ohio, provides an opportunity for you to test your knowledge of the history and background of the U.S. tax system.

1. The Revenue Act of 1861 was the first time this type of tax was levied?
A. Sales tax
B. Estate tax
C. Income tax
D. Property tax

2. In what year did April 15 become “Tax Day”?
A. 1913
B. 1918
C. 1936
D. 1955

3. Prior to the American Revolution, the English Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which imposed taxes on imports of what good(s)?
A. Glass
B. Paint
C. Tea
D. All of the above

4. Which Constitutional Amendment opened the door for a federal income tax?
A. 24th Amendment
B. 16th Amendment
C. 11th Amendment
D. 8th Amendment

5. What politician in Colonial America is most closely associated with the slogan “no taxation without representation”?
A. Massachusetts’ James Otis Jr.
B. New Jersey’s Aaron Burr
C. Massachusetts’ Samuel Adams
D. Maryland’s Samuel Chase

6. The Internal Revenue Service Form 1040, which U.S. taxpayers use to file their annual income tax returns, has been used since what year?
A. 1933
B. 1953
C. 1913
D. 1973

7. Who said “but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes?”
A. Benjamin Franklin
B. James Madison
C. Mark Twain
D. Thomas Jefferson

8. The Current Tax Payment Act of 1943 established what practice?
A. Employer withholding of income taxes
B. Quarterly taxes for self-employed persons
C. Social Security tax payments
D. Tax exemptions for dependents

9. According to the Internal Revenue Service, tax filers last year received an average refund of approximately how much?
A. $250
B. $750
C. $2,000
D. $3,000

10. In 1944, Congress raised the top income tax rate to what percentage?
A. 68 percent
B. 98 percent
C. 75 percent
D. 39 percent

Answers: 1-C, 2-D, 3-D, 4-B, 5-A, 6-C, 7-A, 8-A, 9-D, 10-B

About the Author

Roger L. Beckett is executive director of the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

DON'T MISS

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

UP NEXT

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

UP NEXT

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

UP NEXT

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

UP NEXT

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

UP NEXT

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

UP NEXT

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

8 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

8 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

8 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

8 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

8 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

8 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

8 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

8 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

8 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

9 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

7 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
7 hours ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

7 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
8 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
8 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
8 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend