Artz of Death and Taxes

Today is April 15 and that means we need to get our taxes completed and filed.  

Leading me to always think of the Benjamin Franklin quote from a letter he wrote to Jean-Baptist Leroy in 1789….  Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

The quote is believed to have originally come from a play by Christopher Bullock in  in 1716 called The Cobler of Preston.

What is all these April deadlines fuss about?

The Civil War and the Revenue Act of 1861 that is what this is all about. Federal income was created to raise funds for the Civil War. The taxes were based on assessment not on voluntary tax returns. This act was repealed, readopted and declared unconstitutional.

In 1913 the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. This Amendment gave the United States Congress the legal authority to tax all incomes.  The filing deadline that year was March 1. In 1918 it was March 15 and in 1955 it was again changed to April 15.

Back to the Death and Taxes in Art.

Billy Carter says….. Paintings are like a beer, only beer tastes good and it's hard to stop drinking beer.

Speaking of Beer….. In 1992 The Moonlight Brewing Company in Santa Rosa California created their flagship brew Death and Taxes.

Death and Taxes is a poetry collection by Dorothy Parker in 1931.

In 2003 an episode of Er was titled Death and Taxes.

Death and Taxes was a song performed by Tiler's Folly at Music City Roots live from the Loveless Cafe in July of 2011.

Johnny Cash had something to say about it also….After Taxes.

This week we shall gaze at Death and Taxes in the Artz.