Individual income taxes accounted for more than half of the total revenue collected by the U.S. government in 2025. At a total of $2.6 trillion, they make up the largest share of government revenue. But income tax hasn’t always played a key role in tax revenue. In fact, it wasn’t even introduced as a concept until about 100 years into the country’s history after President Abraham Lincoln signed the very first federal income tax—a 3% flat tax on incomes exceeding $800—to fund the Civil War. Just as income tax didn’t always exist, it also may not last forever.
That’s if ex-presidential candidate and CEO of Noble Mobile Andrew Yang gets his way. In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Yang said it’s time for the U.S. to drop taxes on labor, in favor of taxes on AI. He argued that taxation is a tool used to discourage certain behaviors, and with human employment under threat, the government should stop penalizing the hiring of people.
