Law Commons^™

The Religious Roots Of The Progressive Income Tax In America, Joshua Cutler

Catholic University Law Review

I examine the debate over the first peacetime income tax in the United States in 1894 to investigate the role of religion in enacting the tax and providing moral legitimacy. I find that congressional proponents repeatedly and explicitly argued that a progressive income tax was a biblical tax that best conformed to Judeo-Christian teachings on economics and fundraising. I discuss the history of American religious fundraising practices, including the trend leading up to 1894 that advocated for proportionate giving of income as the best method of giving, as well as the related tithing movement. I document that congressional income tax …