Wealthy interests financed a staged lawsuit against the income tax
Evidence
In the 1890s, it was not enough to pass an important law; the Supreme Court also had to be convinced. William D. Guthrie of New York, who rose from office boy to lion of Wall Street, was bound and determined to kill this 2 percent dragon. He raised money for the lawsuit among his clients, found a willing litigant named Pollock, and launched an attack that he carried all the way to the highest court. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3223
Categorization
- XREF: Echoes the ch74 theme of staged test cases like Plessy v. Ferguson — both sides engineered litigation to reach the Supreme Court. — connects to: The joint tax return originated in 1948 from a wealthy white couple’s lawsuit. — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax…, 83; One wealthy man’s 1916 lawsuit created the capital gains tax break — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax…, 439; A 1916 lawsuit by a wealthy man created the capital gains preference — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax…, 439 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- One wealthy man’s 1916 lawsuit created the capital gains tax break
#exemplifies(0.90) — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 439 - A 1916 lawsuit by a wealthy man created the capital gains preference
#exemplifies(0.90) — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 439 - The joint tax return originated in 1948 from a wealthy white couple’s lawsuit.
#expands(0.85) — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 83 - Community property laws let wealthy couples split income and pay lower taxes
#expands(0.80) — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 88 - Free market advocates originally endorsed attacking income inequality at its source
#corroborates(0.75) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 422