【正文】 rcent on individual ines in exce ss of $4,000, which meant that it reached only the wealthiest members of the population. The Supreme Court struck down the tax, holding that it violated the constitutional require me nt that direct taxes be apportione d among the states by population (pollock v. farmers39。 loan amp。 trust, 158 . 601, 15 S. Ct. 912, 39 L. Ed. 1108 [1895]). After many years of debate and promise, the sixteenth amendme nt to the Constitution was ratified in 1913, providing Congress with the power to lay and collect taxes on ine without apportionme nt among the states. The objectives of the ine tax were the equitable distribution of the tax burden and the raising of revenue. Since 1913 the . ine tax system has bee very plex. In 1913 the ine tax laws were containe d in eighteen pages of legislation。 the explanation of the tax reform act of 1986 was more than thirteen hundre d pages long (Pub. L. 99514, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2085). Commerce Clearing House, a publisher of tax information, released a version of the Internal Revenue Code in the early 1990s that was four times thicker than its version in 1953. Changes to the tax laws often reflect the times. The flat tax of 1913 was later replaced with a graduated tax. After the United States entered world war i, the War Revenue Act of 1917 impose d a maximum tax rate for individuals of 67 percent, pare d with a rate of 13 percent in 1916. In 1924 Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon, speaking to Congress about the high level of taxation, stated, The prese nt syste m is a failure. It was an e me rge ncy measure, adopted unde r the pressure of war necessity and not to be counte d upon as a pe rmane nt part of 南湖學(xué)院 畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì) 27 our revenue structure…. The high rates put pressure on taxpayers to reduce their taxable ine, tend to destroy individual initiative and enterprise, and seriously impede the development of productive business…. Ways will always be found to avoid taxes so destructive in their nature, and the only way to save the situation is to put the taxes on a reasonable basis that will pe rmit business to go on and industry to de velop. Conseque ntly, the Reve nue Act of 1924 re duce d the maximum individual tax rate to 43 pe rce nt (Reve nue Acts, June 2, 1924, ch. 234, 43 Stat. 253). In 1926 the rate was further reduced to 25 percent. The Revenue Act of 1932 was the first tax law passed during the Great Depression (Revenue Acts, June 6, 1932, ch. 209, 47 Stat. 169). It increased the individual maximum rate from 25 to 63 percent, and reduced personal exemptions from $1,500 to $1,000 for single persons, and from $3,500 to $2,500 for marrie d couples. The national industrial recovery act of 1933 (NIRA), part of President franklin d. roosevelt39。s new deal, impose d a five percent excise tax on divide nd receipts, impose d a capital stock tax and an excess profits tax, and suspende d all deductions for losses (June 16, 1933, ch. 90, 48 Stat. 195). The repeal in 1933 of the eighteenth amendme nt, which had prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcohol, brought in an estimated $90 million in new liquor taxes in 1934. The social security act of 1935 provide d for a wage tax, half to be paid by the employee and half by the employer, to establish a federal retirement fund (Old Age Pension Act, Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620). The Wealth Tax Act, also known as the Revenue Act of 1935, increased the maximum tax rate to 79 percent, the Revenue Acts of 1940 and 1941 increase d it to 81 perce nt, the Revenue Act of 1942 raise d it to 88 percent, and the Individual Ine Tax Act of 1944 raised the individual maximum rate to 94 percent. The postWorld War II Revenue Act of 1945 reduced the individual maximum tax from 94 percent to 91 percent. The Revenue Act of 1950, during the korean war, reduced it to percent, but it was raised the next year to 92 pe rce nt (Reve nue Act of 1950, Se pt. 23, 1950, ch. 994, Stat. 906). It remaine d at this level until 1964, when it was reduced to 70 percent. The Revenue Act of 1954 revise d the Internal Reve nue Code of 1939, making major changes that were beneficial to the taxpayer, including providing for child care de ductions (later changed to cre dits), an increase in the charitable contribution limit, a tax credit against taxable retirement ine, employee deductions for business expenses, and liberalized depreciation deductions. From 1954 to 1962, the Internal Revenue Code was amended by 183 separate acts. In 1974 the employee retirement ine security act (ERISA) created protections for employees whose employers promise d specified pensions or other retirement contributions (Pub. L. No. 93406, Sept. 2, 1974, 88 Stat. 829). ERISA re quire d that to be tax de ductible, the employer39。s plan contribution must meet certain minimum standards as to employee participation and vesting and employer funding. ERISA also approve d the use of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to encourage taxdeferred retirement savings by individuals. The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA) provide d the largest tax cut up to that time, reducing the maximum individual rate from 70 percent to 50 percent (Pub. L. No. 9734, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 172). The most sweeping tax changes since world war ii were enacted in the Tax Reform Act of 1986. This bill was 南湖學(xué)院 畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì) 28 signed into law by President ronald reagan and was designed to equalize the tax treatment of various assets, eliminate tax shelters, and lower marginal rates. Conservatives wanted the act to provide a single, low tax rate that could be applie d to everyone. Although this single, flat rate was not include d in the final bill, tax rates were reduced to 15 percent on the first $17,850 of ine for singles and $29,750 for marrie d couples, and set at 28 to 33 perce