when did the US start requiring employers to remove income tax from paychecks?

Question

I know thw 16th amanedment in 1913 began the Income tax but when was it necesary to pay them first and why?

Answer 1

1862
To pay for the Civil War

Answer 2

The War Revenue Act of 1862 started the practice of withholding income taxes "at the source" by the employer.

To the best of my knowledge, all modern income tax laws from the Revenue Act of 1913 to current had taxes withheld by the employer.

EDIT: I did a little research. The Revenue Act of 1913 did indeed have a withholding requirement. From the U.S. Statutes at Large Vol. 38, Part 1, pg. 169, "all persons, firms, companies, copartnerships, corporations, joint-stock companies or associations, and insurance companies, except as hereinafter provided, in whatever capacity acting, having the control, receipt, disposal, or payment of fixed or determinable annual or periodical gains, profits, and income of another person subject to tax, shall in behalf of such person deduct and withhold from the payment an amount equivalent to the normal income tax upon the same"

I also just noticed that no one (including myself) has yet answered the second part of your question, "why is it necessary to pay them first?". There are probably at least two reasons for this. First, it allows the government to smooth out the receipt of tax revenue throughout the year. The government could do the same thing by requiring individuals to pay taxes once a quarter or once a month, but then the IRS would have to process millions of returns every month or quarter. There are fewer businesses, so if the money is collected from the business side and consolidated for all employees, it ends up being less paperwork and processing time. Second, it provides a check against tax payer statements. If businesses didn't have to collect withholding, the IRS would not have anything to check a taxpayer's statement against. So a taxpayer could say they made $10,000, but really made $20,000 and the IRS would have no evidence to make sure taxpayers paid the proper amount of taxes. Sure, the current system isn't 100% effective at catching tax cheats, but as far as the amount of returns and the requirements, it is fairly efficient.

Answer 3

Withholding was first introduced in 1943.
Check out this link for other dates in the History of the US Income Tax system.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005921.html

Answer 4

I believe that employer withholding dates to 1954. The earliest income taxes were nearly a century prior to that.

Answer 5

Check out this webpage...it tells a lot about the beginning which was actually in 1862 to help support the Civil War...