The 16th Amendment
“…render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's…”
-Mathew 22:21
Passed by Congress July 2, 1909 and finally ratified on February 3, 1913 the 16th Amendment changed a portion of Article I, Section 9 of the constitution and thus was born the Bureau of Internal Revenue (now the Internal Revenue Service) with the ability to collect personal individual income tax. The amendment reads, “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration,” (http://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/). The first 1040 form was four pages long including the instructions! The tax rate for 1913 was 1% if your personal income was over $3,000.00 or 6% if your personal income was over $500,000.00 a year. At the time, most Americans would have been exempt from paying taxes however as the average income for the average household was less than a $1,000.00 per year. Today, April 15, 2016, the IRS and taxes take on a whole new life as the current tax code is hundreds of pages long. Today, as the deadline to file taxes comes and goes, millions of our fellow citizens’ stress and struggle with the goal of filing their taxes. This post is NOT about whether you agree or disagree with the current system of which we have. The point of this article is about the stress and anxiety many law abiding people suffer with every year when it comes to tax time.
Relieving stress is as important a skill when it comes to proper health and wellbeing as it is to get plenty of exercise, eating right or getting plenty of sleep. Stress and anxiety slowly erodes various systems and functions of the body that can lead to serious illness. Issues like high blood pressure can trigger cardiac events, stress can trigger asthma episodes, elevate glucose levels for diabetics and can trigger episodes of depression or high anxiety. Stress has been called a silent killer (if left unattended to) and sends our emotional balance right out the window. The old saying that nothing is for certain except for death and taxes tends to ring loudly with a resonance of truth.
What is the best way to abate this stress? We all have to face April 15th each and every year but what can one do to help relieve the stress and anxiety some people feel when getting ready to file their taxes? WebMD has a nice article on tips of avoiding tax time stress but I’m just going to touch on some highlights (http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/features/cope-tax-time-stress).
1) Don’t wait until the last minute, even if your return is complex and you can’t use the 1040EZ form, try doing your return in little bits over time.
2) If you struggle with or have math anxiety, there are plenty of agencies out there who can offer great help and ease the fear of errors.
3) That tax code is so complex, if you need help and can’t (or won’t) seek help from an agency, believe it or not, you can call the IRS and they will try and answer your questions.
4) Exercise…the ideal stress antidote…go for a walk, skip or run around the block. Get away from the numbers and take time for you to get some fresh air, it will do wonders.
5) Don’t stress eat. Comfort food, while ok in moderation, can lead to us all feeling a bit sluggish. Make an effort to eat more fresh veggies and less starches and your body will thank you for the effort…you’ll feel more energized and ready to face the 1040 form.
Whatever form of healthy stress relief you choose (there are many others) just don’t forget to take time for you to take a deep breath of fresh air. Render unto Uncle Sam what is Uncle Sam’s but don’t lose your health in the process considering that taxes are one of the two inevitable things in life. Thanks for reading as always, enjoy the beautiful weather we are expecting this weekend. Take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.
Wm Reid
Best Home Care Services
325 N Eastern Ave
Connersville, IN 47331
765-827-9833
wmreid@bhcshealth.com