Happy Tax Day! The first know system of taxation dates all the way back to Ancient Egypt, around 3000-2800 BC. There were two forms of taxation back then, the corvee, which was forced labor provided by peasants who were too poor to pay, and tithes. Records indicate that the Pharoah would make biennial tours of the kingdom to collect tithes from his subjects. The first tax the newly formed U.S. federal government imposed on domestic products was a whiskey tax, which became law in 1791. It was intended to help with the debt from the Revolutionary War, but violence broke out and it ended up causing the Whiskey Rebellion from 1791-1794. The tax was eventually repealed by Thomas Jefferson in 1802. President Lincoln signed the Revenue Act in 1891, imposing the first-ever federal income tax. And in 1913 the 16th Amendment was passed, establishing the federal income tax system we follow today. Originally, the filing deadline was March 1. Presumably, that date was chosen so people had a few months to get their paperwork together and crunch the numbers after the end of the year. It was moved to our current April 15 in 1955. The IRS estimates that it takes individuals an average of 13 hours to complete their tax returns each year. Learn more here.