Iowa Taxation: Difference between revisions

*'''1862-1866''' - Tax lists for Civil War times are found in: [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/577929?availability=Family%20History%20Library  Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for Iowa, 1862–1866] . <ref>  National Archives Microfilm Publications; M0766. Washington, DC: The National Archives, 1988.  {{FHL|577929|item|disp=FHL films 1534648–63.}} </ref>Arranged by districts. The taxes were levied on carriages, billiard tables, gold and silver plate (dishware), income in excess of $600, and some inheritance of personal property.  

*'''1862-1874''' - [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/577929?availability=Family%20History%20Library Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for  1862–1866]. Images only.

*''1862-1866'' [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/577929?availability=Family%20History%20Library Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for Iowa, 1862–1866] Internal revenue assessment lists were created into divisions called Districts, each county is put into a district. County names are arranged alphabetically within the division and then within months. The following is a list of counties placed in which district. (knowing the district and county your ancestor lived in will make searching this years taxes list a little faster) <br> ''(scroll down to district desired and click on camera to open)''<br>

U.S. Internal Revenue Assessment Lists. ''Three types of Reports:'' '''A'''=Annual; '''M'''=Monthly; '''S'''=Special Years and Reports may be different.

''DISTRICT'' 1: Davis, Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Lee, Louisa, Van Buren, Washington<br>

''DISTRICT'' 6: Black Hawk, Boone, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carrol, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dickinson, Emmet, Franklin, Green, Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Humboldt, Ida, Kossuth, Lyon Marshell, Monona, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth,Pocahontas, Sac, Sioux, Story, Webster, Winnebago, Woodbury, Worth, Wright <br>

From mid-March 1934 to 1936, an Old Age Assistance Tax was levied. These tax records often provide the person’s birth date and birthplace and full names of the parents (including the wife's maiden name). The persons listed were born between the 1850s and 1914. The lists only include persons who owned real estate or taxable personal property. The following source is an example of the records available:

*Wayne County (Iowa). County Recorder. ''Old Age Assistance Records, 1934–1936''. <ref> ''Old Age Assistance Records, 1934–1936'' Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1990. {{FHL|571212|item|disp=FHL films 1653885–88}}. </ref>The records are alphabetical.

Abraham Lincoln instituted the income tax in 1862, and on July 1, 1862, Congress passed the Internal Revenue Act, creating the Bureau of Internal Revenue (later renamed to the Internal Revenue Service). This act was intended to “provide Internal Revenue to support the Government and to pay interest on the Public Debt.” Instituted in the height of the Civil War, the “Public Debt” at the time primarily consisted of war expenses.  For the Southern States that were part of the Confederate side of the Civil War, once Union troops took over parts of the Southern States, income tax were instituted on them. <ref>[https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1264  Creation of the IRA]</ref>

*To learn more about the Civil War taxes click [https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1986/winter/civil-war-tax-records.html here]

What history has shown us is that while property taxes are locally levied, there is significant state involvement with the amount of tax local political subdivisions can levy, how property assessments are conducted, and what services local taxing subdivisions must provide for their residents. This comes at a cost to state taxpayers, because the state has obligations it must fund as well, with a limited amount of state tax dollars.