Tax Trivia!

Which ancient civilization revered the tax professional as the most noble man in society?

• Greece

• Rome

• Egypt

• Incas

Since its inception in 1934, the Duck Stamp has become a popular collector's item. (It is an actual stamp!) A person who bought each stamp the year it was issued would have paid around $400 for the stamps by the year 2000. How much do you think those stamps would be worth today?

• $800

• $2,000

• $3,500

• Over $5,000

Answer explanation

The Duck Stamp Act is a direct tax that applies to people over the age of 16 who want to hunt waterfowl. It came about because a group of sportsmen and conservationists lobbied for a program to protect migratory waterfowl and wetlands-the informal tax legislation process at work!

For the fiscal year of 2023, 139,137,000 tax returns were filed.

How many of these returns were filed electronically?

• 97%

• 99%

• 83%

• 87%

Answer explanation

134,531,000 filed electronically out of 139,137,000.

That number has grown from ten years ago, in 2013, when 84.1% of returns were filed electronically.

What's crazy is that in 2001 only 30.7% of returns were filed electronically.

Additionally, the error rate for an e-filed return is only half a percent; before the error rate of a paper return was up to 21%.

We've come a long way!

A tariff is a direct tax on imported and exported goods. What is the origin of the word tariff?

• the English word tarry, which means "to delay or be slow"

• the French word tare, which means "corrupt"

• the Arabic word ta'rif, which means "information"

• the English word tar, which is a thick, sticky liquid

Before the income tax, the government often put new excise taxes into effect in order to raise revenue during times of crisis. Many taxed items were considered luxury items. Taxes on most items were dropped as the items became less exclusive or as the need for emergency revenue decreased. Other taxes were kept in place because they generated a great deal of revenue for the government.

Which of the following items was first taxed as a luxury in 1898, at the start of the Spanish-American War and continues to be taxed today?

• The Telephone

• The Automobile

• The Radio

• The Firearm

The most misused Social Security number of all time was 078-05-1120. In 1938, as part of a promotion to sell wallets through Woolworth and other department stores, wallet manufacturer E. H. Ferree Company wanted to demonstrate how a Social Security card would fit into its wallets. A sample card was placed inside each wallet and displayed the Social Security number of the company's secretary, Mrs. Hilda Schrader Whitcher. Even though the sample card was half of the size of an actual Social Security card, was written in red, and had Specimen written in bold, many people confusedly used this as their own Social Security number. In all, about how many people do you think reported 078-05-1120 as their Social Security number?

• 400,000

• 10,000

• 7,000

• 23,000

How many refunds did the IRS issue for the fiscal year of 2023?

• 95 million

• 57 million

• 103 million

• 76 million

What State took the top spot for the largest average tax refund for the 2022 fiscal year?

• New York

• Louisiana

• Illinois

• Florida

Which of the following States DOES tax income (the other three do not tax income):

• Kentucky

• Florida

• South Dakota

• Wyoming

Up until 2015, Alabama used to tax what item below?

• Playing Cards

• Dice

• Poker Chips

• Ping Pong Balls