Profile America — Sunday, February 3rd. It may be hard to credit but there used to be a time when the public sphere wasn't filled with squabbling about income tax rates. The familiar noise began 100 years ago today, when the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, authorizing Congress to levy taxes on income. In its first two years, the tax was modest, affecting only a very few citizens, and provided only a small part of the government's total revenue. But World War I moved income taxes to the center of federal finances. In 2011, individuals paid nearly $1.1 trillionin federal income tax, while state and local income taxes amounted to $69 billion in just the third quarter alone of 2012. Profile America is in its 16th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Summary of State & Local Revenue, Table 1

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).