Misplaced Pages

#979020

96-589: As of 2024, the organization is believed to be closed. It does not appear in the database of IRS Tax Exempt Organizations, its website URL is a casino promotion, and it's social media feed is no longer being updated. Founder Vernon Weir died in December of 2021 and a successor was not publicly announced. ASA was founded in 1998 in large part to fill the role for animal sanctuaries that the Association of Zoos and Aquariums fills for zoos, and in disagreement with

192-578: A courtroom via criminal prosecutions to curtail the activities of some of these groups, IRS can do by administrative action." By 1986, limited electronic filing of tax returns was possible. The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 ("RRA 98") changed the organization from geographically oriented to an organization based on four operating divisions. It added "10 deadly sins" that require immediate termination of IRS employees found to have committed certain misconduct. Enforcement activities declined. The IRS Oversight Board noted that

288-545: A decade ago when nearly two-thirds of families owned stock." The table below shows changes from Q4 2016 (the end of the Obama Administration) to Q1 2022. There is an important distinction between income and wealth . Income refers to a flow of money over time, commonly in the form of a wage or salary; wealth is a collection of assets owned, minus liabilities. In essence, income is what people receive through work, retirement, or social welfare whereas wealth

384-461: A decline in the number of paper returns being processed each year. As a result, the IRS implemented a consolidation plan for its paper tax return processing centers, closing five of its ten processing centers between 2003 and 2011. The agency closed two more centers - one in 2019 and another in 2021 - as e-file use continued to expand. E-filed tax returns accounted for 90% of all returns submitted during

480-420: A family's total opportunity to secure stature and a meaningful standard of living , or to pass their class status down to their children. Moreover, wealth provides for both short- and long-term financial security, bestows social prestige, contributes to political power , and can be leveraged to obtain more wealth. Hence, wealth provides mobility and agency—the ability to act. The accumulation of wealth enables

576-662: A federal office created in 1862 to assess the nation's first income tax to fund the American Civil War . The temporary measure funded over a fifth of the Union's war expenses before being allowed to expire a decade later. In 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, authorizing Congress to impose a tax on income and leading to the creation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue . In 1953,

672-462: A government agency." Requard admitted that he saw the returns but denied that he leaked them. Reporter Jack White of The Providence Journal won the Pulitzer Prize for reporting about Nixon's tax returns. Nixon, with a salary of $ 200,000, paid $ 792.81 in federal income tax in 1970 and $ 878.03 in 1971, with deductions of $ 571,000 for donating "vice-presidential papers". This was one of

768-582: A lifetime. Income statistics cover too narrow a time span for it to be an adequate indicator of financial inequality. For example, the Gini coefficient for wealth inequality increased from 0.80 in 1983 to 0.84 in 1989. In the same year, 1989, the Gini coefficient for income was only 0.52. The Gini coefficient is an economic tool on a scale from 0 to 1 that measures the level of inequality. 1 signifies perfect inequality and 0 represents perfect equality. From this data, it

864-400: A majority of households in the top income quintile have moved to a lower quintile within one decade. There are even more changes to households in the top 1%. Without including those data here, a reader is likely to assume households in the top 1% are almost the same from year to year. ) In 2009, people in the top 1% of taxpayers made $ 343,927 or more. According to US economist Joseph Stiglitz

960-489: A messy tax season on several fronts. The email was sent by IRS Commissioner Koskinen to workers. Koskinen predicted the IRS would shut down operations for two days later that year which would result in unpaid furloughs for employees and service cuts for taxpayers . Koskinen also said delays to IT investments of more than $ 200   million may delay new taxpayer protections against identity theft . Also in January 2015,

1056-409: A new login and ID verification process for several of its online tools, including general account access, Identity Protection (IP) PIN setup, and payment plan applications. As part of the agency's Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) initiative, the process included the use of third-party facial recognition technologies to confirm taxpayer identities. The facial recognition requirement

SECTION 10

#1732773128980

1152-449: A regular basis (exclusive of certain money receipts such as capital gains) before payments on personal income taxes, social security, union dues, Medicare deductions, etc. By this official measure, the wealthiest families may have low income, but the value of their assets may be enough money to support their lifestyle. Dividends from trusts or gains in the stock market do not fall under the aforementioned definition of income, but are commonly

1248-468: A report critical of the lack of protection of privacy in TAS, and the project was abandoned in 1978. In 1995, the IRS began to use the public Internet for electronic filing. Since the introduction of e-filing , self-paced online tax services have flourished, augmenting the work of tax accountants, who were sometimes replaced. By 2002, more than a third of all tax returns were filed electronically. This led to

1344-806: A result, the IRS now functions under four major operating divisions: The Large Business & International (LB&I) division was known as the Large and Mid-Size Business division prior to a name change on October 1, 2010. The IRS is headquartered in Washington, D.C. , and does most of its computer programming in Maryland. It processes paper tax returns sent by mail and e-filed tax returns at three IRS center locations: Austin, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Ogden, Utah. The IRS also operates computer centers in three locations: Detroit, Michigan; Martinsburg, West Virginia; and Memphis, Tennessee. The IRS

1440-533: A sizable fraction of household wealth" and "including pensions and Social Security in net worth makes the distribution more even." In Inequality for All —a 2013 documentary, narrated by Robert Reich , in which he argues that income inequality is the defining issue of the United States—Reich states that 95% of economic gains following the economic recovery which began in 2009 went to the top 1% of Americans (by net worth) ( HNWI ). A September 2017 study by

1536-592: A substantial head start. In September 2012, according to the Institute for Policy Studies , over 60 percent of the Forbes richest 400 Americans grew up in substantial privilege. In 2013, wealth inequality in the U.S. was greater than in most developed countries, other than Switzerland and Denmark . In the United States, the use of offshore holdings is exceptionally small compared to Europe, where much of

1632-417: A variety of freedoms, and removes limits on life that one might otherwise face. Federal Reserve data indicates that as of Q4 2021, the top 1% of households in the United States held 30.9% of the country's wealth, while the bottom 50% held 2.6%. From 1989 to 2019, wealth became increasingly concentrated in the top 1% and top 10% due in large part to corporate stock ownership concentration in those segments of

1728-462: A week, were more likely to be self-employed, and earned a fifth of their income as capital income. The top one percent was composed of many professions and had an annual turnover rate of more than 25%. The five most common professions were managers , physicians , administrators , lawyers , and teachers . A 2022 study in PNAS found that earnings inequality in the United States did not increase over

1824-731: Is also low. According to the Congressional Budget Office , between 1979 and 2007, incomes of the top 1% of Americans grew by an average of 275%. (Note: The IRS insists that comparisons of adjusted gross income pre-1987 and post-1987 are complicated by large changes in the definition of AGI, which led to households within the top income quintile reporting more of their income on their individual income tax form's AGI, rather than reporting their business income in separate corporate tax returns, or not reporting certain non-taxable income in their AGI at all, such as municipal bond income. In addition, IRS studies consistently show that

1920-473: Is blamed for $ 4   billion worth of fraudulent 2012 tax refunds by the IRS. Fraudulent claims were made with the use of stolen taxpayer identification and Social Security numbers, with returns sent to addresses both in the US and internationally. Following the release of the findings, the IRS stated that it resolved most of the identity theft cases of 2013 within 120 days, while the average time to resolve cases from

2016-689: Is called the Great Compression . Franklin D. Roosevelt's establishment of social programs under the New Deal and efforts towards wealth redistribution also reduced wealth inequality. The Federal Reserve publishes information on the distribution of household assets, debt, and equity (net worth) by quarter going back to 1989. The tables below summarize the net worth data, in real terms (adjusted for inflation), for 1989 to 2022, and 2016 to 2022. Journalist Matthew Yglesias explained in June 2019 how

SECTION 20

#1732773128980

2112-447: Is currently led by Daniel Werfel , who became Commissioner of Internal Revenue on March 13, 2023. He succeeded Douglas O'Donnell , who served as Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue after Charles P. Rettig 's term as Commissioner ended on November 12, 2022. There have been 50 commissioners of Internal Revenue and 28 acting commissioners since the agency's creation in 1862. From May 22, 2013, to December 23, 2013, senior official at

2208-423: Is evident that in 1989 there was a discrepancy in the level of economic disparity; the extent of wealth inequality was significantly higher than income inequality. Recent research shows that many households, in particular, those headed by young parents (younger than 35), minorities, and individuals with low educational attainment, display very little accumulation. Many have no financial assets and their total net worth

2304-615: Is justified by their income. Wages are also determined by the "market price of a skill" at that current time. Although gender inequality is a separate social issue, it plays a role in economic inequality. According to the U.S. Census Report, in America the median full-time salary for women is 77 percent of that for men. Also contributing to the wealth inequality in the U.S, both unskilled and skilled workers are being replaced by machinery. The Seven Pillars Institute for Global Finance and Ethics argues that because of this "technological advance",

2400-471: Is what people own. While the two are related, income inequality alone is insufficient for understanding economic inequality for two reasons: In 1998, Dennis Gilbert asserted that the standard of living of the working and middle classes is dependent primarily upon income and wages, while the rich tend to rely on wealth, distinguishing them from the vast majority of Americans. The United States Census Bureau formally defines income as money received on

2496-482: The American Civil War , President Abraham Lincoln and 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

2592-582: The American Economic Journal found that greater economic inequality in the United States than in Europe was not because of the nature of tax and transfer systems in the United States. The study found that the U.S. redistributes a greater share of its wealth to the bottom half of the income distribution than any European country. The study found instead that Europe had less economic inequality because it had been more successful at ensuring that

2688-533: The COVID-19 pandemic , the wealth held by billionaires in the U.S. increased by 70%, with 2020 marking the steepest increase in billionaires' share of wealth on record. In 2007, the top 20% of the wealthiest Americans possessed 80% of all financial assets. In 2007, the richest 1% of the American population owned 35% of the country's total wealth, and the next 19% owned 51%. The top 20% of Americans owned 86% of

2784-732: The Federal Reserve (purchasing U.S. treasuries ). The IRS faces periodic controversy and opposition over its methods, constitutionality, and the principle of taxation generally. In recent years, the agency has struggled with budget cuts, under-staffed workforce, outdated technology and reduced morale, all of which collectively result in the inappropriate enforcement of tax laws against high earners and large corporations , reduced tax collection, rising deficits , lower spending on important priorities, or further tax increases on compliant taxpayers to compensate for lost revenue . Research shows that IRS audits raise revenue, both through

2880-544: The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that when state and federal taxes are taken into account, however, the poorest 20 percent pay an effective 20.2 percent rate while the top 1 percent pay an effective 33.7 percent rate. Using Federal Reserve data, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth reported in August 2019 that: "Looking at the cumulative growth of wealth disaggregated by group, we see that

2976-615: The Office of Management and Budget Daniel Werfel was acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 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. No IRS commissioner has served more than five years and one month since Guy Helvering, who served 10 years until 1943. The most recent commissioner to serve

American Sanctuary Association - Misplaced Pages Continue

3072-464: The People's Policy Project , 79% of the country's wealth is owned by millionaires and billionaires. Also in 2019, PolitiFact reported that three people (less than the 400 reported in 2011) had more wealth than the bottom half of all Americans. During the COVID-19 pandemic , the wealth held by billionaires in the U.S. increased by 70%. According to the 2022 World Inequality Report , "2020 marked

3168-732: The Supreme Court declared the Income Tax of 1894 unconstitutional in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. , a decision that contradicted Hylton v. United States . The federal government scrambled to raise money. In 1906, with the election of President Theodore Roosevelt , and later his successor William Howard Taft , the United States saw a populist movement for tax reform. This movement culminated during then-candidate Woodrow Wilson 's election of 1912 and in February 1913,

3264-456: The 2011/2012 tax period was 312 days. In September 2014, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen expressed concern over the organization's ability to handle Obamacare and administer premium tax credits that help people pay for health plans from the health law's insurance exchanges. It will also enforce the law's individual mandate , which requires most Americans to hold health insurance. In January 2015, Fox News obtained an email which predicted

3360-460: The 2021 filing season. In 2003, the IRS struck a deal with tax software vendors: The IRS would not develop online filing software and, in return, software vendors would provide free e-filing to most Americans. In 2009, 70% of filers qualified for free electronic filing of federal returns. According to an inspector general's report, released in November 2013, identity theft in the United States

3456-459: The 2023 fiscal year, the agency processed more than 271.4 million tax returns including more than 163.1 million individual income tax returns. For FY 2023, the IRS collected approximately $ 4.7 trillion, which is approximately 96 percent of the operational funding for the federal government; funding widely throughout to different aspects of American society , from education and healthcare to national defense and infrastructure. In July 1862, during

3552-571: The ASA had 50 accredited sanctuaries in the United States. To receive accreditation by the ASA, a sanctuary must first submit an application demonstrating that it meets the ASA's criteria. Once the application receives preliminary approval, ASA conducts a site visit before granting accreditation. Among other things, the ASA looks at the sanctuary's financials, nonprofit status, APHIS inspection reports, habitat designs, food prep areas, staff and board of directors, emergency procedures, and general condition of

3648-589: The Deputy in this position assists and acts on behalf of the IRS Commissioner in directing, coordinating and controlling the policies, programs and activities of the IRS. This includes establishing tax administration policy and developing strategic issues and objectives for IRS strategic management. Wealth inequality in the United States The inequality of wealth (i.e. inequality in

3744-549: The Federal Reserve reported that the top 1% owned 38.5% of the country's wealth in 2016. According to a June 2017 report by the Boston Consulting Group , around 70% of the nation's wealth will be in the hands of millionaires and billionaires by 2021. A 2019 study by economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman found that the average effective tax rate paid by the richest 400 families (0.003%) in

3840-485: The IRS was tasked with enforcement of laws relating to prohibition of alcohol sales and manufacture ; this was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice in 1930. After repeal in 1933, the IRS resumed collection of taxes on beverage alcohol. The alcohol, tobacco and firearms activities of the bureau were segregated into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in 1972. A new tax act

3936-671: The Treasury and led by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue , who is appointed to a five-year term by the President of the United States. The duties of the IRS include providing tax assistance to taxpayers; pursuing and resolving instances of erroneous or fraudulent tax filings; and overseeing various benefits programs, including the Affordable Care Act . The IRS originates from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue ,

American Sanctuary Association - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-547: The U.S. since WWII has seen a corresponding rise in the inequality of wealth and income. Some tax policies subsidize wealthy people more than poor people; critics often argue the home mortgage interest deduction should be abolished because it provides more tax relief for people in higher tax brackets and with more expensive homes, and that poorer people are more often renters and therefore less likely to be able to use this deduction at all. Regressive taxes include payroll taxes , sales taxes , and fuel taxes . A 2022 study in

4128-540: The U.S., which is highly concentrated among the wealthiest families: The Federal Reserve reported the median value of stock ownership by income group for 2016: NPR reported that when politicians reference the stock market as a measure of economic success, that success is not relevant to nearly half of Americans. Further, more than one-third of Americans who work full-time have no access to pensions or retirement accounts such as 401(k)s that derive their value from financial assets like stocks and bonds. The NYT reported that

4224-421: The US was 23 percent, more than a percentage point lower than the 24.2 percent paid by the bottom half of American households. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center found that the bottom 20 percent of earners pay an average 2.9 percent effective income tax rate federally, while the richest 1 percent paid an effective 29.6 percent tax rate and the top 0.01 percent paid an effective 30.6 percent tax rate. In 2019,

4320-502: The agency was renamed the Internal Revenue Service, and in subsequent decades underwent numerous reforms and reorganizations, most significantly in the 1990s. Since its establishment, the IRS has been largely responsible for collecting the revenue needed to fund the United States federal government, with the rest being funded either through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (collecting duties and tariffs ) or

4416-448: The already-wealthy, as they were the only ones financially sound enough to invest. Simon Kuznets , using income tax records and his research-based estimates, showed a reduction of about 10% in the movement of national income toward the top 10% of wealth-owners, a reduction from about 45–50% in 1913 to about 30–35% in 1948. This period spans both The Great Depression and World War II , events with significant economic consequences. This

4512-441: The bottom 50 percent of wealth owners experienced no net wealth growth since 1989. At the other end of the spectrum, the top 1 percent have seen their wealth grow by almost 300 percent since 1989. Although cumulative wealth growth was relatively similar among all wealth groups through the 1990s, the top 1 percent and bottom 50 percent diverged around 2000." According to an analysis of Survey of Consumer Finances data from 2019 by

4608-406: The bottom half of the income distribution are able to get relatively well-paying jobs. The wealth gap between white and black families nearly tripled from $ 85,000 in 1984 to $ 236,500 in 2009. A Brandeis University Institute on Assets and Social Policy paper cites the number of years of homeownership, household income, unemployment, education, and inheritance as leading causes for the growth of

4704-471: The change to the Constitution. It was further ratified by six more states by March. Of the 48 states at the time, 42 ratified it. Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Utah rejected the amendment; Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida did not take up the issue. Though the constitutional amendment to allow the federal government to collect income taxes was proposed by President Taft in 1909, the 16th Amendment

4800-552: The continuation of wealth inequality in America: the rich are accumulating more assets while the middle and working classes are just getting by. As of 2007, the richest 1% held about 38% of all privately held wealth in the United States. While the bottom 90% held 73.2% of all debt. According to The New York Times , the richest 1 percent in the United States now own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. However, other studies argue that higher average savings rate will contribute to

4896-486: The country's wealth and the bottom 80% of the population owned 14%. In 2011, financial inequality was greater than inequality in total wealth, with the top 1% of the population owning 43%, the next 19% of Americans owning 50%, and the bottom 80% owning 7%. However, after the Great Recession , which began in 2007, the share of total wealth owned by the top 1% of the population grew from 35% to 37%, and that owned by

SECTION 50

#1732773128980

4992-576: The decline in enforcement activities has "rais[ed] questions about tax compliance and fairness to the vast majority of citizens who pay all their taxes". In June 2012, the IRS Oversight Board recommended to Treasury a fiscal year 2014 budget of $ 13.074   billion for the Internal Revenue Service. On December 20, 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 . It was signed into law by President Trump on December 22, 2017. In

5088-452: The distribution of assets ) has substantially increased in the United States in recent decades. Wealth commonly includes the values of any homes, automobiles, personal valuables, businesses, savings , and investments , as well as any associated debts. Although different from income inequality , the two are related. Wealth is usually not used for daily expenditures or factored into household budgets, but combined with income, it represents

5184-409: The editorial board of The New York Times called the IRS budget cuts penny-wise-and-pound-foolish, where for every dollar of cuts in the budget, six were lost in tax revenue. A 2020 Treasury Department audit found the IRS had improved its identity verification system offerings for taxpayers, but was still behind in fully meeting digital identity requirements. The following year, the IRS announced

5280-690: The filing deadline was moved from March 15 to April 15. The Tax Reform Act of 1969 created the Alternative Minimum Tax . In 1969, Richard Nixon directed the IRS to audit his political opponents, as well as opponents of US involvement in the Vietnam War . The IRS's Activist Organizations Committee, later renamed the Special Services Staff, created a target list of more than 1,000 organizations and 4,000 individuals. A White House memo said that "What we cannot do in

5376-428: The form and the IRS checked the form for accuracy. The IRS's workload jumped by ten-fold, triggering a massive restructuring. Professional tax collectors began to replace a system of "patronage" appointments. The IRS doubled its staff but was still processing 1917 returns in 1919. Income tax raised much of the money required to finance the war effort; in 1918 a new Revenue Act established a top tax rate of 77%. In 1919

5472-467: The gap, concluding homeownership to be the most important. Inheritance can directly link the disadvantaged economic position and prospects of today's blacks to the disadvantaged positions of their parents' and grandparents' generations, according to a report done by Robert B. Avery and Michael S. Rendall that pointed out "one in three white households will receive a substantial inheritance during their lifetime compared to only one in ten black households." In

5568-435: The hands of the wealthiest Americans. The mechanism for this is that when the wealthy avoid paying taxes, wealth concentrates to their coffers and the poor go into debt. The economist Joseph Stiglitz argues that "Strong unions have helped to reduce inequality, whereas weaker unions have made it easier for CEOs, sometimes working with market forces that they have helped shape, to increase it." The long fall in unionization in

5664-509: The income gap between workers and owners has widened. Income inequality contributes to wealth inequality. For example, economist Emmanuel Saez wrote in June 2016 that the top 1% of families captured 52% of the total real income (GDP) growth per family from 2009 to 2015. From 2009 to 2012, the top 1% captured 91% of the income gains. Nepotism perpetuates and increases wealth inequality. Wealthy families pass down their assets allowing future generations to develop even more wealth. The poor, on

5760-420: The initial audit and indirectly by deterring future tax cheating. According to a 2024 study, "an additional $ 1 spent auditing taxpayers above the 90th income percentile yields more than $ 12 in revenue, while audits of below-median income taxpayers yield $ 5." As of 2018, it saw a 15 percent reduction in its workforce , including a decline of more than 25 percent of its enforcement staff. Nevertheless, during

5856-421: The journal Sociological Perspectives , Lisa Keister reports that family size and structure during childhood "are related to racial differences in adult wealth accumulation trajectories, allowing whites to begin accumulating high-yield assets earlier in life." The article "America's Financial Divide" added context to racial wealth inequality, stating: ... nearly 96.1 percent of the 1.2 million households in

SECTION 60

#1732773128980

5952-626: The late 18th century. The Gini coefficient , which measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1(with 1 being very high inequality) was 0.367 in New England and the Middle Atlantic, as compared to 0.57 in Europe. Some reasons for this include the ease that the average American had in buying frontier land, which was abundant at the time, and an overall scarcity of labor in non-slaveholding areas, which forced landowners to pay higher wages. There were also relatively few poor people in America at

6048-640: The longest term was Doug Shulman, who was appointed by President George W. Bush and served for five years. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is assisted by two deputy commissioners. The Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support reports directly to the Commissioner and oversees the IRS's integrated support functions, working to facilitate economy of scale efficiencies and better business practices. The Deputy also administers and provides executive leadership for customer service, processing, tax law enforcement and financial management operations. Additionally,

6144-601: The other hand, are less able to leave inheritances to their children leaving the latter with little or no wealth on which to build. Wealthy parents often use their economic or political power to advantage their own children, such as by providing extra funding for education, excluding poor families from the local community or schools (usually through exclusionary zoning ), using social connections to provide opportunities for advancement like internships , and allowing children to take entrepreneurial risks without risking homelessness or destitution. Corresponding to financial resources,

6240-480: The over 14 million African American households have more than $ 1.2 million in net assets ... Relying on data from Credit Suisse and Brandeis University 's Institute on Assets and Social Policy, the Harvard Business Review in the article "How America's Wealthiest Black Families Invest Money" stated: If you're white and have a net worth of about $ 356,000, that's good enough to put you in

6336-481: The ownership of stock has driven wealth inequality, as the bottom 50% has minimal stock ownership: "...[T]he bottom half of the income distribution had a huge share of its wealth tied up in real estate while owning essentially no shares of corporate stock. The top 1 percent, by contrast, wasn't just rich — it was specifically rich in terms of owning companies, both stock in publicly traded ones ("corporate equities") and shares of closely held ones ("private businesses")...So

6432-481: The percentage of workers covered by generous defined-benefit pension plans has declined from 62% in 1983 to 17% by 2016. While some economists consider an increase in the stock market to have a "wealth effect" that increases economic growth, economists like Former Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher believe those effects are limited. Essentially, the wealthy possess greater financial opportunities that allow their money to make more money . Earnings from

6528-443: The poor from having any opportunity to accumulate wealth and thereby better their conditions. Economic inequality is also a result of difference in income. Factors that contribute to this gap in wages are things such as level of education, labor market demand and supply, gender differences, growth in technology, and personal abilities. The quality and level of education that a person has often corresponds to their skill level, which

6624-399: The population; the bottom 50% own little if any corporate stock. From an international perspective, the difference in the US median and mean wealth per adult is over 600%. A 2011 study found that US citizens across the political spectrum dramatically underestimate the current level of wealth inequality in the US, and would prefer a far more egalitarian distribution of wealth. During

6720-456: The preceding decade, marking the first reversal of rising earnings inequality since 1980. The reversal was due to a shrinking wage gap between low-wage workers and median-wage earners, which was due to broadly rising pay in low-wage professions. At the same time, the gap between median-wage workers and top earners widened. In March 2017, NPR summarized the distribution of U.S. stock market ownership (direct and indirect through mutual funds ) in

6816-487: The prevailing accreditation standards. Actress and animal activist Tippi Hedren , founder of the Shambala Preserve , was elected as the first President. Vernon Weir was ASA's first Executive Director and served in that role for 22 years. ASA served as an accrediting body for animal sanctuaries , ensuring that ASA accrediting facilities met higher standards of animal care than required by U.S. law. As of 2019,

6912-415: The primary source of capital for the ultra-wealthy. Retired people also have little income, but may have a high net worth, because of money saved over time. Additionally, income does not capture the extent of wealth inequality. Wealth is most commonly obtained over time, through the steady investing of income, and the growth of assets. The income of one year does not typically encompass the accumulation over

7008-452: The public. His tax advisor, Edward L. Morgan, became the fourth law-enforcement official to be charged with a crime during Watergate . John Requard Jr., accused of leaking the Nixon tax returns, collected delinquent taxes in the slums of Washington. In his words: "We went after people for nickels and dimes, many of them poor and in many cases illiterate people who didn't know how to deal with

7104-527: The ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution : 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. This granted Congress the specific power to impose an income tax without regard to apportionment among the states by population. By February 1913, 36 states had ratified

7200-652: The reasons for his famous statement: "Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got." So controversial was this leak, that most later US presidents released their tax returns (though sometimes only partially). These returns can be found online at the Tax History Project. By the end of the Second World War, the IRS was handling sixty million tax returns each year, using a combination of mechanical desk calculators, accounting machines , and pencil and paper forms. In 1948 punch card equipment

7296-594: The reduction of the share of wealth owned by the rich. The reason is that the rich in wealth are not necessarily the individuals with the highest income. Therefore, the relative wealth share of poorer quintiles of the population would increase if the savings rate of income is very large, although the absolute difference from the wealthiest will increase. The nature of tax policies in America has been suggested by economists and politicians such as Emmanuel Saez , Thomas Piketty , and Barack Obama to perpetuate economic inequality in America by steering large sums of wealth into

7392-409: The richest 1% of Americans gained 93% of the additional income created in 2010. A study by Emmanuel Saez and Piketty showed that the top 10 percent of earners earned more than half of the country's total income in 2012, the highest level recorded since the government began collecting the relevant data a century ago. People in the top one percent were three times more likely to work more than 50 hours

7488-593: The right sanctuary to house specific animals in need of homes. Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) is the revenue service for the United States federal government , which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code , the main body of the federal statutory tax law. It is an agency of the Department of

7584-442: The sanctuary and its inhabitants. ASA did not have a sanctuary facility of its own, but assisted accredited sanctuaries with animal placement. Unlike wildlife rehabilitation centers, wildlife sanctuaries provide homes to wild animals that have been deemed non-releasable, usually due to injuries or habituation to humans. Some animal sanctuaries specialize in wildlife; others work with domestic animals and livestock. ASA helped to find

7680-558: The steepest increase in global billionaires' share of wealth on record." As of late 2022, according to Snopes , 735 billionaires collectively possessed more wealth than the bottom half of U.S. households ($ 4.5 trillion and $ 4.1 trillion respectively). The top 1% held a total of $ 43.45 trillion. In the late 18th century, “incomes were more equally distributed in colonial America than in any other place that can be measured,” according to Peter Lindert and Jeffrey Williamson. The richest 1 percent of households held only 8.5% of total income in

7776-615: The stock market or mutual funds are reinvested to produce a larger return. Over time, the sum that is invested becomes progressively more substantial. Those who are not wealthy, however, do not have the resources to enhance their opportunities and improve their economic position. Rather, "after debt payments, poor families are constrained to spend the remaining income on items that will not produce wealth and will depreciate over time." Scholar David B. Grusky notes that "62 percent of households headed by single parents are without savings or other financial assets." Net indebtedness generally prevents

7872-420: The three decades since 1991, the IRS had a substantial decrease in the number of employees per million residents, decreasing from 451 (in 1991) to 237 (in 2021). A decrease of 47.5 percent. From the 1950s through the 1970s, the IRS began using technology such as microfilm to keep and organize records. Access to this information proved controversial, when President Richard Nixon's tax returns were leaked to

7968-549: The time, since only those with at least some money could afford to come to America. Inequality grew in the 19th century; between 1774 and 1860, the Gini coefficient grew from 0.441 to 0.529. In 1860, the top 1 percent collected almost one-third of property incomes , as compared to 13.7% in 1774. There was a great deal of competition for land in the cities and non-frontier areas during this time period, with those who had already acquired land becoming richer than everyone else. The newly burgeoning financial sector also greatly rewarded

8064-456: The top 20% of Americans grew from 86% to 88%. The Great Recession also caused a drop of 36% in median household wealth, but a drop of only 11% for the top 1%, further widening the gap between the top 1% and the bottom 99%. According to PolitiFact and other sources, in 2011, the 400 wealthiest Americans had more wealth than half of all Americans combined. Inherited wealth may help explain why many Americans who have become rich may have had

8160-439: The top one percent by income were white, a total of about 1,150,000 households. In addition, these families were found to have a median net asset worth of $ 8.3 million. In stark contrast, in the same piece, black households were shown as a mere 1.4 percent of the top one percent by income, that's only 16,800 homes. In addition, their median net asset worth was just $ 1.2 million. Using this data as an indicator only several thousand of

8256-504: The value of those specific assets — assets that people in the bottom half of the distribution never had a chance to own in the first place — soared." The National Public Radio , also known as NPR, reported in 2017 that the bottom 50% of U.S. households (by net worth) have little stock market exposure (neither directly nor indirectly through 401k plans), writing: "That means the stock market rally can only directly benefit around half of all Americans — and substantially fewer than it would have

8352-493: The wealth of the top percentiles is kept in offshore holdings. According to a 2014 Credit Suisse study, the ratio of wealth to household income is the highest it has been since the Great Depression . According to a paper published by the Federal Reserve in 1997, "For most households, pensions and Social Security are the most important sources of income during retirement, and the promised benefit stream constitutes

8448-403: The wealthy strategically organize their money so that it will produce profit. Affluent people are more likely to allocate their money to financial assets such as stocks, bonds, and other investments which hold the possibility of capital appreciation. Those who are not wealthy are more likely to have their money in savings accounts and home ownership. This difference comprises the largest reason for

8544-478: Was dropped in 2022, however, following privacy concerns from government officials and the public. Alternative ID verification options have since been introduced with the goal of making IRS online tools accessible to more people. As early as the year 1918, the Bureau of Internal Revenue began using the name "Internal Revenue Service" on at least one tax form. In 1953, the name change to the "Internal Revenue Service"

8640-604: Was formalized in Treasury Decision 6038. The 1980s saw a reorganization of the IRS. A bipartisan commission was created with several mandates, among them to increase customer service and improve collections. Congress later enacted the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 , which mandated that the agency replace its geographic regional divisions with units that serve particular categories of taxpayers. As

8736-528: Was not ratified until 1913, just before the start of the First World War . That same year, the first edition of the 1040 form was introduced. A copy of the 1913 form can be viewed online and shows that only those with annual incomes of at least $ 3,000 (equivalent to $ 92,500 in 2023) were instructed to file an income tax return. In the first year after the ratification of the 16th Amendment, no taxes were collected. Instead, taxpayers simply completed

8832-570: Was passed in 1862: 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. After the Civil War, Reconstruction , railroads, and transforming the North and South war machines towards peacetime required public funding. However, in 1872, seven years after the war, lawmakers allowed the temporary Civil War income tax to expire. Income taxes evolved, but in 1894

8928-465: Was passed in 1942 as the United States entered the Second World War . This act included a special wartime surcharge. The number of American citizens who paid income tax increased from about four million in 1939 to more than forty-two million by 1945. In 1952, after a series of politically damaging incidents of tax evasion and bribery among its own employees, the Bureau of Internal Revenue

9024-506: Was phased out. Information processing in the IRS systems of the late 1960s was in batch mode; microfilm records were updated weekly and distributed to regional centers for handling tax inquiries. A project to implement an interactive, realtime system, the "Tax Administration System", was launched, that would provide thousands of local interactive terminals at IRS offices. However, the General Accounting Office prepared

9120-408: Was reorganized under a plan put forward by President Truman , with the approval of Congress. The reorganization decentralized many functions to new district offices which replaced the collector's offices. Civil service directors were appointed to replace the politically appointed collectors of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Not long after, the bureau was renamed the Internal Revenue Service. In 1954

9216-480: Was used. The first trial of a computer system for income tax processing was in 1955, when an IBM 650 installed at Kansas City processed 1.1 million returns. The IRS was authorized to proceed with computerization in 1959 and purchased IBM 1401 and IBM 7070 systems for local and regional data processing centers. The Social Security number was used for taxpayer identification starting in 1965. By 1967, all returns were processed by computer and punched card data entry

#979020