Understanding Taxes - Teacher

The Whys of Taxes

The Whys of Taxes examines the theory and history of taxes. The Whys of Taxes includes six tax-related themes, divided into a total of 25 lessons. Each theme examines a different set of tax concepts, and includes a variety of interactive activities and assessments. The first lesson of each theme contains a PowerPoint™ presentation providing a pictorial overview of the entire theme.

Theme 1 Your Role as a Taxpayer

Lesson 1: Why Pay Taxes?

Lesson 2: How Taxes Evolve

Lesson 3: The Taxpayers Responsibilities

Lesson 4: The Taxpayers Rights

Theme 2: Taxes in U.S. History

Lesson 1: Evolution of Taxation in the Constitution

Lesson 2: Early Tax Issues

Lesson 3: Income Tax Issues

Lesson 4: The Social Security Act of 1935

Lesson 5: The Wealth Tax of 1935 and the Victory Tax of 1942

Lesson 6: Tax Reform in the 1960s and 1980s

Lesson 7: Tax Reform in the 1990s and 2000s

Theme 3: Fairness in Taxes

Lesson 1: How to Measure Fairness

Lesson 2: Regressive Taxes

Lesson 3: Progressive Taxes

Lesson 4: Proportional Taxes

Lesson 5: How Taxes Affect Us

Theme 4: What is Taxed and Why

Lesson 1: Federal/State/Local Taxes

Lesson 2: Taxes in a Market Economy

Lesson 3: Income Tax Facts

Lesson 4: Direct and Indirect Taxes

Theme 5: Impact of Taxes

Lesson 1: How Taxes Influence Behavior

Lesson 2: The Politics of Taxation

Theme 6: Understanding the IRS

Lesson 1: The IRS Yesterday and Today

Lesson 2: Your First Job

Lesson 3: Methods of Filing