April 15, 2020

Today, April 15, is an important day on the calendar, and it is known for some momentous events in history. To many people in the United States, April 15 brings to mind taxes, as it is generally the final day income taxes can be filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Two other April 15 events do not brighten the mood: the U.S. President Abraham Lincoln died on that day in 1865; and the ocean liner Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. But a number of other events, including the births of the artists Henry James and Leonardo da Vinci and Jackie Robinson’s breaking the racial barrier in Major League Baseball (MLB), make April 15 a not altogether gloomy day.

The U.S. President Abraham Lincoln died on April 15, 1865, after being shot by an assassin the night before. Credit: Library of Congress

On the evening of April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln attended a performance of the comedy Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. At 10:22 p.m., a shot rang through the crowded house. John Wilkes Booth, a Southern sympathizer and well-known actor, had shot the president in the head from the rear of the presidential box. Lincoln was carried unconscious to a boarding house across the street. The president died there at 7:22 a.m. on April 15.

The “unsinkable” ocean liner Titanic was believed to be the safest ship afloat. But on April 15, 1912, Titanic sank after striking an iceberg. Credit: © AP/Wide World

Just before midnight on April 14, 1912, the British ocean liner RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean. The disaster occurred on the ship’s maiden (first) voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City. The ship struck the iceberg at about 11:40 p.m. and sank bout two and a half hours later, on April 15. The huge ocean liner broke in half and sank into the icy water, killing more than 1,500 people.

On Feb. 3, 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States authorized Congress to levy a federal income tax. The amendment allows Congress to levy an income tax on individuals and businesses without dividing it equally among the states or basing it on the U.S. census. The deadline for paying taxes from the previous year was originally March 1, and then March 15. In 1954, to give people a little more time to deal with the often complicated burden, the tax deadline settled on April 15.

Jackie Robinson beame the first African American to play modern Major League Baseball when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Credit: © MLB Photos/Getty Images

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson played his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African American to play in the major leagues since the 1880’s. Robinson’s impact on segregation in sports went far beyond the Dodgers. After baseball desegregated, other professional sports quickly followed, and a number of previously segregated hotels and restaurants began to admit blacks.

Aside from Leonardo da Vinci (1452) and Henry James (1843), notable April 15 birthdays include the U.S. painter Charles Willson Peale (1741); the U.S. Blues singer Bessie Smith (1894); the first African American mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington (1922); the Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi (1978); the Canadian-American actor Seth Rogan (1982); and the British actress Emma Watson (1990).

January 2, 2013

The United States House of Representatives passed legislation on January 1 that averted the so-called “fiscal cliff”–dramatic increases in federal income taxes and drastic cuts in federal spending, which theoretically went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on January 1. Eight-five Republicans joined 172 Democrats to vote to raise the federal income tax from 35 percent to 39.6 percent on household income above $400,000 a year for individuals and $450,000 for couples. Earlier in the day, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 89 to 8. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden forged the “fiscal cliff” deal after negotiations between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner broke down after days of discussion.

Certain tax deductions and credits will also be phased out on income above $250,000. For income below those levels, the bill makes permanent the tax cuts implemented during the George W. Bush presidency. The measure also extends unemployment insurance to 2 million unemployed workers who were on the verge of losing federal assistance. The bill delays for two months the automatic cuts, the so-called sequestered funds, to the Department of Defense and other federal agencies that would otherwise have kicked in on January 2. It does not, however, extend the 2-percent cut to the payroll tax that was enacted to stimulate the economy after the 2008 credit crisis and recession.

The House chamber, where the entire House of Representatives meets, has galleries for the public. Visitors may watch the legislators debate important bills. But most of the actual work of the House is done by committees. (© Brooks Kraft, Corbis)

Political experts regard the legislation as a clear victory for President Obama, who ran for reelection vowing to impose higher taxes on the wealthy. House Republicans were unhappy that the legislation did not significantly cut spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and other social programs that Republicans maintain must be trimmed to bring the national debt under control.

Additional World Book articles:

• Congress of the United States
• Economic Crisis: The Banking Meltdown (a special report)
• Entitlements—Benefit of Doubt  (a special report)
• Medicaid in Distress (a special report)
• Tempest in a Tea Party (a special report)

April 17, 2012

Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked the so-called Buffett rule, President Barack Obama’s proposal to set a minimum 30-percent federal income tax rate for the highest earners. The name of the bill refers to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has long complained that his secretary pays a higher rate of tax than he does. The vote, 51-to-45, was largely along party lines. Under the Senate cloture rule, the bill needed 60 votes to move forward for full debate. For most of the rule’s history, the threat of blocking legislation through filibuster was rarely used. In recent years, however, it has become commonplace.

President Barack Obama, a Democrat, argues that raising taxes on Americans earning more than $1 million per year would help reduce the deficit and make the tax code more fair. Most Republicans oppose the measure, calling it a political stunt that would actually kill jobs. “By wasting so much time on this political gimmick that even Democrats admit won’t solve our larger problems, it’s shown the president is more interested in misleading people than he is in leading,” noted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The president responded that Senate Republicans chose “once again to protect tax breaks for the wealthiest few Americans at the expense of the middle class.”

Warren Buffett, one of the world's richest men, has long complained that his secretary pays a higher rate of income tax than he does. (Courtesy of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.)

Most American pay approximately 30 percent tax on earned income; by contrast, the income tax on capital gains–that is, money realized from stocks, bonds, real estate, and business partnerships–is about 15 percent. The income of many wealthy Americans, such as Warren Buffett, comes from capital gains, rather than from regular employment.