<P> Most jurisdictions require self - assessment of the tax and require payers of some types of income to withhold tax from those payments . Advance payments of tax by taxpayers may be required . Taxpayers not timely paying tax owed are generally subject to significant penalties, which may include jail for individuals or revocation of an entity's legal existence . </P> <P> The concept of taxing income is a modern innovation and presupposes several things: a money economy, reasonably accurate accounts, a common understanding of receipts, expenses and profits, and an orderly society with reliable records . </P> <P> For most of the history of civilization, these preconditions did not exist, and taxes were based on other factors . Taxes on wealth, social position, and ownership of the means of production (typically land and slaves) were all common . Practices such as tithing, or an offering of first fruits, existed from ancient times, and can be regarded as a precursor of the income tax, but they lacked precision and certainly were not based on a concept of net increase . </P> <P> The first income tax is generally attributed to Egypt . In the early days of the Roman Republic, public taxes consisted of modest assessments on owned wealth and property . The tax rate under normal circumstances was 1% and sometimes would climb as high as 3% in situations such as war . These modest taxes were levied against land, homes and other real estate, slaves, animals, personal items and monetary wealth . The more a person had in property, the more tax they paid . Taxes were collected from individuals . </P>

In 1860 which british officer introduce income tax