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.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate