75 years ago…
May 27, 1931 – Robert W. Shackelford and Captain Jack Smith of the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla visit Washington, D.C. to take on the Internal Revenue Service in protest of a proposed tax of $6 on krewe members. The tax, if imposed, would spread back over a period of four years making membership cost $24 ($265.96 in today’s dollars). Tax officials in Florida had reported to the Washington bureau that Gasparilla was a social organization, not strictly one established for civic betterment. Shackelford and Smith emphasized that the only strictly social function was the annual ball for members and guests, and that no admission was charged.
Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.
