Being forced to fill out and pay your taxes is something we all do by instinct now, but back before World War II, most middle-class Americans didn’t have to worry about taxes. The Revenue Act of 1942 made 15 million more people eligible to pay taxes. How could the government urge people to pay these new taxes without angering them and causing them to riot? Cartoons of course!
Just in time for Tax Day, check out this great taxpayer-funded cartoon from 1942 featuring Donald Duck, aimed to encourage every good American to do his “duty” and pay his taxes. Those who didn’t want to pay or didn’t pay it gladly are depicted as friends of Hitler and enemies of liberty and democracy. Funny how times change.
