In conversational mode, direct tax refers to those taxes, which are paid by the tax payers to the government directly and no intermediaries are involved in the process. There are several income taxes, estate taxes and many more, which are considered as direct taxes.
According to the constitutional law of US, a direct tax is that which is levied on the property and is paid by the owner of that property. According to the US court of Appeal, there are only three types of taxes which can be termed as direct tax. These taxes are the capitation, real property tax and personal property tax.
According to the Constitution of the United States of America, the direct taxes levied and collected by the federal government are divided among the States. These divisions were made on the basis of population of that particular state. But, after the 16th amendment of the constitution in 1913, the liabilities of the national government of sharing the taxes were withdrawn.
It was in the year 1790 that the direct tax was used for the first time the United States of America. America and France were involved in a war against each other. To meet the war expenses, the government of America was looking for a steady source of revenue. For this purpose, the national government levied direct taxes on the owners of real estate and slaves. These taxes were imposed on the value of the property and were paid directly by the property owner to the government.
