內容提要：美國憲法第16修正案，個人所得稅隨收隨付制。
For many years, people did not pay a tax on their incomes. Then, in 1913, the 16th Amendment 修正案 to the U.S. Constitution was passed. It gave the government the right to collect income taxes.
Each year by April 15, people had to send a report to the government. It showed how much money each person had earned the year before. It also showed how much tax each person owed. The money was then paid all at once or in four equal payments during the year. That meant that the tax on money earned in one year was not paid until the next year.
The government decided the tax should be paid in the same year the money was earned. So it came up with a plan to take the tax out of a person's paycheck 薪水 each payday. On June 9, 1943, the U.S. Congress passed the Current Tax Payment Act. It is also known as the pay-as-you-go income tax. Employers 僱主 must withhold 扣留, or keep, the tax from a person's paycheck and send it to the government.
Each January, employers give their employees 僱員 a form. It shows how much money they had earned the year before. It also shows how much tax has been withheld. People must still send reports to the government by April 15 each year. Sometimes people owe more tax than the amount that was withheld. Then they must pay it right away. Sometimes they owe less than the amount that was withheld. Then they got a refund 退款 from the government.
本文內容選自上海外語教育出版社引進出版的《聽讀美國小故事》第6冊（六月）。如需購買，可到噹噹、亞馬遜、京東等網上書城去看看。