Bill Bryson: Income Tax Did Not Become a Part of American Life until 1914
Bill Bryson, British-American author and journalist
[Scroll down for the English]
KISWAHILI
“Kufikia mwanzoni mwa karne ya ishirini, Marekani ilikuwa ikizalisha chuma zaidi ya Ujerumani na Uingereza kwa pamoja—hali ambayo ingeonekana kuwa isiyofikiriwa nusu karne kabla….
“Mnamo mwaka wa 1901, J.P Morgan alichukua na kuunganisha makampuni mengi madogo katika shirika kubwa la U.S Steel Corporation, makampuni makubwa zaidi ya biashara ambayo ulimwengu haujawahi kuona….
“Bunge la Marekani lilijaribu kuanzisha kodi ya mapato ya asilimia 2 kwa mapato kuzidi $4,000 mwaka wa 1894, lakini Mahakama Kuu iliamua kuwa ni kinyume na katiba. Kodi ya mapato haingekuwa sehemu ya kawaida ya maisha ya Wamarekani hadi 1914.”
- Bill Bryson, mwandishi wa Uingereza-Marekani na mwanahabari anayejulikana kwa uandishi wake wa maarifa yenye ukweli kuhusu sayansi, historia, na lugha ya Kiingereza.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
“By the early twentieth century American was producing more steel than Germany and Britain combined—a circumstance that would have seem inconceivable half a century before….
“In 1901, J.P Morgan absorbed and amalgamated a host of smaller companies into the mighty U.S Steel Corporation, the largest business enterprises the world had ever seen….
“Congress tried to introduce an income tax of 2 percent on earnings over $4,000 in 1894, but the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. Income tax wouldn’t become a regular part of American life until 1914.”
- Bill Bryson, British-American author and journalist known for his insightful non-fiction writing on science, history, and the English language.
Chanzo (source): Bryson, Bill. At Home: A Short History of Private Life. New York: Doubleday, 2010, pages 216-217.
Thank you for this insight.