Tax History

I have been doing some research on the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act of 1894 - which enacted the income tax law that was struck down by the Supreme Court in the Pollock case, leading to the passage of the 16th Amendment - and came across something that struck me as kind of weird.  It seems that among the items listed in the act that could be imported without duty free was "Dragon's blood."  This struck me as rather odd - I mean, really, people didn't actually believe in dragons back then, did they?  Turns out that this is the name that is given to a bright red resin that was (and apparently continues to be) used in dyes and varnishes.

Whew!