Tax Day is just around the corner. How’s the income tax thing going for you? Done? Or maybe you join the line up at the Post Office to get that April 18th postmark? Something that is not talked about much is the history of the Sixteenth Amendment, which allowed the Federal government to tax your income.
What Does the Constitution Say?
Article 1 Section 9 of the original Constitution tells us that no capitation or other direct tax could be laid upon a person. That means no Federal taxes. To exercise Common Sense Civics and Citizenship, let’s look a little further into the history of taxation in the USA.
What Is Our Income Tax History?
A bit of interesting income tax history: the states could levy a tax on the population according to the numbers or census and send the revenue to the Federal government. However, if the States didn’t like what the Federal government was planning to spend money on, the States could withhold the funds. At that time, tariffs were the primary source of income except during a time of war.
Remember, Senators used to be appointed by state legislatures, so they had the pulse on the very needs of their respective states. Indeed, they worked for their constituents. If Senators didn’t like what the Federal government was going to spend their money on, they wouldn’t raise the revenue to pay for it! And if We, the People didn’t like it, rest assured, our Senators knew it, and so did our state legislatures. Today, Senators are elected directly by popular vote, so We the People have lost a good deal of direct influence.
About 100 years after the original Constitution was ratified, Congress passed an income tax law on corporations- NOT individuals. The Supreme Court of the United States declared that law unconstitutional because it taxed property and that was a form of direct taxation.
Moving forward to 1909, President William Howard Taft proposed the Sixteenth Amendment. He wanted to assure the constitutionality of his Corporation Income Act, which placed a tax on corporations at a rate of TWO percent. No direct tax on U.S. citizens was to be laid. Other court cases followed, all seeming to support the Constitution by not placing a capitation tax on Americans.
What About Today?
Never has Article 1, Section 9, clause 4 of the U. S. Constitution been amended. The Sixteenth Amendment, however, governs us today:
“The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.” So, paying taxes is the law. Not paying taxes is illegal. Therefore, pay your taxes. If you object, join Sixteenth Amendment causes or peaceful protests. Vote accordingly.
What Is the Lesson To Be Learned?
What is the lesson to be learned about the Income Tax? Our Founders designed our Constitution for We the People to live in freedom. Little tweaks to it here and there over time lead to less freedom, not more. After the Bill of Rights was passed, the amendment process tends to give the federal government more power. That is not the original intent of the Constitution. Never lose sight of our freedoms and how easily they can be taken from We the People.
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship.🇺🇸
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