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Taxation page for Connecticat

Online Resources

 * — FamilySearch.org. Images only.
 * U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918 for Connecticut at Ancestry.com ($)(Free /$)

Why Use Tax Records
Tax record content varies and may include the name and residence of the taxpayer, description of the real estate, name of original purchaser, description of personal property, number of males over 21, number of school children, slaves, and farm animals. Tax records usually are arranged by date and locality and are not normally indexed. Tax records can be used in place of missing land and census records to locate a person’s residence.

County Level
Town Records

Town records generally begin with the founding of the town and are kept to the present. Many of the original town records are in the town clerks' offices. Some are at the Connecticut State Library. This includes Town tax records

An excellent inventory of Connecticut local records is Nelson P. Mead, "Public Archives of Connecticut: County, Probate, and Local Records," in Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1906, Volume 2, Ameruican Hisorical Association Annual report pp. 53-127 Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1908

Town tax records are included in the town records kept by the towns. The State of Connecticut has an alphabeticallist of the towns with links to the town web sites with contact information. You can write to the town for infomation about tax lists.

https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Health-Information-Systems--Reporting/Vitalrecs/Connecticut-Town-Vital-Records-Directory

The Family History Library has microfilms of many Connecticut town records from the creation of the town to the early 1920s. To find the film numbers for these records, use the FamilySearch Catalog Place-names search for a particular town. The films can be used at the Library, and many can also be sent to family history centers.

State Level

 * 1670. Holbrook, Jay Mack. Connecticut 1670 Census. Oxford, Mass.: Holbrook Research Institute, 1977. A reconstructed census of over 2,300 heads of families recorded in tax lists and other records. . Other libraries (WorldCat).


 * 1862-1866. United States. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Internal revenue assessment lists for Connecticut, 1862-1866. Arranged by district, then by date. District 1 contains Hartford and Tolland counties; district 2, Middlesex and New Haven counties; district 3, New London and Windham counties; and district 4, Fairfield and Litchfield counties..


 * 1915-1926.Connecticut. Inheritance Tax Division. Estate record card index, 1915-1926. Records are arranged alphabetically by name of deceased. Contains name of deceased, residence, date of death, probate district, value of estate, tax information, etc..

Tax Laws
In July of 1862, Congress passed the Internal Revenue Act to provide income for the Government to pay the public debt including Civil War costs. After the Civil War, taxes were abolished until only a tax on liquor and tobacco remained in 1883. An 1895 Supreme Court ruling declared that income tax was unconstitutional and led to the ratification of the sixteenth amendment in 1913 which states that Congress has the power to establish and collect taxes on incomes. This was the beginning of our modern day taxes.

In July of 1862, Congress passed the Internal Revenue Act to provide income for the Government to pay the public debt including Civil War costs. After the Civil War, taxes were abolished until only a tax on liquor and tobacco remained in 1883. An 1895 Supreme Court ruling declared that income tax was unconstitutional and led to the ratification of the sixteenth amendment in 1913 which states that Congress has the power to establish and collect taxes on incomes. This was the beginning of our modern day taxes.

To learn more about this collection click here

For those confederate states that were taken over by the Union the Internal Revenue Act instituted by President Lincoln would be put into place. To learn more about the Civil War taxes click here

What history has shown us is that while property taxes are locally levied, there is significant state involvement with the amount of tax local political subdivisions can levy, how property assessments are conducted, and what services local taxing subdivisions must provide for their residents. Many of the changes the state has made in the past to lower the local property tax required a shift in financial responsibility from the local governments to the state. This comes at a cost to state taxpayers, because the state has obligations it must fund as well, with a limited amount of state tax dollars.


 * Jones, Frederick Robertson. History of Taxation in Connecticut, 1636-1776. Reprint. New York: Johnson Reprint Corporation, 1973. Originally published: Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins Press, 1896. (Johns Hopkins University studies in historical and political science. 14th series; 8).

Online Resources

 * — images
 * U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918 for Connecticut ($)

History

 * Jones, Frederick Robertson. History of Taxation in Connecticut, 1636-1776. Reprint. New York: Johnson Reprint Corporation, 1973. Originally published: Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins Press, 1896. (Johns Hopkins University studies in historical and political science. 14th series; 8).

State Tax Records

 * 1670. Holbrook, Jay Mack. Connecticut 1670 Census. Oxford, Mass.: Holbrook Research Institute, 1977. A reconstructed census of over 2,300 heads of families recorded in tax lists and other records. . Other libraries (WorldCat).


 * 1862-1866. United States. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Internal revenue assessment lists for Connecticut, 1862-1866. Arranged by district, then by date. District 1 contains Hartford and Tolland counties; district 2, Middlesex and New Haven counties; district 3, New London and Windham counties; and district 4, Fairfield and Litchfield counties..


 * 1915-1926.Connecticut. Inheritance Tax Division. Estate record card index, 1915-1926. Records are arranged alphabetically by name of deceased. Contains name of deceased, residence, date of death, probate district, value of estate, tax information, etc..

Town Tax Records
Town tax records are included in the town records kept by the towns. The State of Connecticut has an alphabeticallist of the towns with links to the town web sites with contact information. You can write to the town for infomation about tax lists.

The Family History Library has microfilms of many Connecticut town records from the creation of the town to the early 1920s. To find the film numbers for these records, use the FamilySearch Catalog Place-names search for a particular town. The films can be used at the Library, and many can also be sent to family history centers.

Since 1861, the tax collector collects taxes. Previously the treasurer and later the sheriff collected taxes. Except for inheritance taxes, the tax collector collects all county taxes, including "taxes on real and personal property, schools and special districts, and business licenses. "Historically the office of tax collector was combined with the office of county treasurer and sheriff. Today it is usually with the treasurer's office."

In July of 1862, Congress passed the Internal Revenue Act to provide income for the Government to pay the public debt including Civil War costs. After the Civil War, taxes were abolished until only a tax on liquor and tobacco remained in 1883. An 1895 Supreme Court ruling declared that income tax was unconstitutional and led to the ratification of the sixteenth amendment in 1913 which states that Congress has the power to establish and collect taxes on incomes. This was the beginning of our modern day taxes.

To learn more about this collection click here

To learn more about the Civil War taxes click here

What history has shown us is that while property taxes are locally levied, there is significant state involvement with the amount of tax local political subdivisions can levy, how property assessments are conducted, and what services local taxing subdivisions must provide for their residents. Many of the changes the state has made in the past to lower the local property tax required a shift in financial responsibility from the local governments to the state. This comes at a cost to state taxpayers, because the state has obligations it must fund as well, with a limited amount of state tax dollars.