The 1944 standard deduction created the itemize-versus-standard choice structure still in force

Evidence

There was a deduction for personal interest (think credit card or car loan) as well as business interest. … In 1944, as more Americans were taxed to fund the war effort, Congress adopted the standard deduction to simplify administering the income tax and save taxpayers the trouble of keeping receipts. So taxpayers had (and still have) a choice: Take the standard deduction and don’t itemize, or itemize deductions if doing so will lower your tax bill even further. — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 180

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• DEFINE: Origin of the standard deduction and the choice architecture that gates who benefits from itemized deductions.