The 1924 Revenue Act Set a Top Marginal Tax Rate of 46 Percent

I was browsing through old editions of the Federal Register—who doesn’t, after all?—and learned that the Revenue Act of 1924 set a tax rate of 43 percent on incomes over $100,000 and 46 percent on incomes over $500,000. That’s about the equivalent of $1.5 million and $7 million, respectively, today, compared to a top marginal rate of 37 percent in current law. It’s remarkable, isn’t it, that even a conservative Republican administration in the era of small government taxed the rich more than we do today? It’s also worth noting that the 1924 Act set up 43 tax brackets. Apparently it never occurred to them to invent a dumb canard about lots of brackets having anything to do with the complexity of filing a return.

Oh, and there’s also this. Just thought I’d post it for no particular reason.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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