Prior to 1943, in an effort to have a regular flow of income to the Treasury to help pay for World War II, paying income tax was on a yearly basis and the government relied on voluntary compliance.
To help people to learn about and pay their taxes, the government turned to popular culture by:
- The cartoon character Donald Duck visited Washington and learned about taxes in a short film called, “The New Spirit”
- Irving Berlin composed a song called, “I Paid My Income Tax Today”
- At club appearances, popular singer Danny Kate included songs about paying taxes
