At least that is how Bob Dylan said it. There is a small chance he was talking about life and society, as opposed to the way Tennessee handles a few particular tax issues, but let’s stretch it a bit. In June, the Tennessee General Assembly passed the 2009 Technical Corrections Bill. Here is a link to the bill or a summary from the legislature. It has several significant changes to TN law that will affect a large number of businesses. No longer will businesses be able to fly under the radar and dodge the state tax man.   

The road to a national income tax took some 50 years. It started during the Civil War. The Republicans imposed a 3% tax on income over $800, and during the war it was raised twice. Karl Marx loved the idea of a national income tax. In fact it was one of the ten planks the Communist Party desired in his Communist Manifesto. Many Populists and Democrats advocated a national income tax as far back as the 1890s. Congress passed a 2% tax on all income above $4,000 in 1894, but the Supreme Court struck down the law a year later as unconstitutional. Imagine that.