From the time the first tribal leader demanded a share of his kin’s produce as a price for protection, tax systems have been inequitable and contradictory. But the American personal income tax, converted to a mass tax in 1941, has expanded the government’s ability to raise revenue beyond the wildest dreams of any king. The income tax, once hailed as the way to prevent the concentration of wealth in a few hands, has become an albatross around the neck of the common man.

Class Tax Mass Tax examines the origins and implications of the income tax, the federal government’s increased reliance on it and the path to a sensible tax code.