[lbo-talk] More premature Obama/FDR comparisons, this, time from Newsweek

[Tim Francis-Wright]

Carrol Cox wrote:
> Doug Henwood wrote:
>> It wasn't until WW2 that they got serious - 14.2% in
>> 1942, and 30.3% in 1943.
> 
> Someplace in there they cancelled a whole year's income tax in order to
> shift to withholding system we have now. Would that have created a
> somewhat artificial temporary boost in the deficit.

Withholding began in 1943 for the first time since the Civil War.
The 1943 tax returns at the Tax History Project imply that
1942 income taxes counted against one's 1943 tax liability (but
not against the 5% Victory Tax).

But I do not think that would affect the 1943 deficit, since
the tax receipts for fiscal year 1943 would include the 1942
taxes due with the returns plus the first months of withholding.
On the other hand, the 1944 figures would reflect the lower
figures.

--tim francis-wright