In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a revenue-raising measure to help pay for the costs associated with the Civil War. The measure created a Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the nation’s first income tax. The tax was 3% for income between $600 and $10,000 and 5% for income above $10,000. Heeding public opposition, Congress cut tax rates in 1867 and repealed the income tax entirely in 1872.