what was the tax rate when we declared our independence? what is it now?

Question

I should clarify... what were we sending to the King of England as a percentage of income versus what we send the IRS?

Answer 1

Prior to the Revolution, incomes were not taxed by The Crown. Property taxes were levied locally and by The Crown. The primary source of revenue for The Crown was duties and taxes on goods imported into the Colonies. Read up on your US History for more details.

At the Federal level, income taxes are levied at rates that vary from 0% to 35%, plus an additional 7.65% for Social Security & Medicare. State taxes, if any, are in addition to those.

A comparison of the Colonial tax burden to modern tax burdens is relatively meaningless owing primarily to the vast differences in the services provided by the respective governments.

The Colonists objection to The Crown wasn't taxes per-se, but taxation without representation. Had King George and Parliament pulled their collective heads out of their azzez it's entirely possible that we'd still be English subjects today. For certain, our history would be vastly different from what it was and today would be very different from what it is now.

Answer 2

Income taxes were not legal when we declared out independence. Therefore, the tax rate was zero. Now, the top federal tax rate is 35%. Although, at some points in the 20th century this was as high as 90%.