The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said they cannot render an opinion on the 2012 consolidated financial statements of the federal government because of widespread material internal control weaknesses, significant uncertainties, and other limitations.
At the beginning of the 20th century governments at all levels in the United States raised almost all their revenue from ad-valorem taxes: tariffs, sales taxes, and property taxes.
Starting in World War I, after the passage of the federal income tax, federal revenue became increasingly dependent upon income taxes. After the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935, the income tax was augmented by social insurance taxes. States began to get revenues from income taxes in the 1920s and from social insurance taxes beginning in the 1930s. But the principal source of revenue remained ad-valorem taxes. State income taxes began to ramp up in the 1970s, but flattened after 1990. Revenue from fees, employee retirement operations, and lotteries began to represent a large share of revenue in the 1980s and thereafter.
Local revenues are collected principally through ad-valorem taxes. Income taxes remain negligible in most localities. Fees and business income, including employee retirement operations, have steadily increased as a share of revenue throughout the 20th century.
FACT: The U.S. tax code has been amended 4,680 times in the past 12 years alone and now runs to a mind-boggling 74,000 pages.
Source: Accounting-Degree.org
