The US Constitution Show: Educating Americans About their Freedoms and Rights

Amendment XVI

Status of Income Tax Clarified

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The Congress shall have 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.

Notes:   On April 13, 2000, the organization We the People Foundation for Constitutional Education, Inc. sent delegates to the U.S. capital to present evidence that the 16th Amendment was not properly ratified. The evidence that We the People presented is available on their web site - this site will post updates when available.

Cecil, of the newspaper/online column called The Straight Dope, has done some research into some of the claims that the 16th was not properly ratified. His columns are online.

A very well-researched and literate "tax protester" FAQ has been published on the net. A good read for anyone contemplating a challenge to the income tax. There is also an organization called "Quatloos" that aims to expose all tax evasion scams (and there are quite a number of them). Visit them for more information.

Ratified: February 3, 1913

The 16th Amendment, which specifically authorizes the income tax, was proposed on July 12, 1909.

This amendment was specifically rejected by New Hampshire on Mar 2, 1911. It was also rejected by Arkansas prior to its subsequent ratification, and by Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Utah.

History:   In 1895, in the Supreme Court case of Pollock v Farmer's Loan and Trust (157 U.S. 429), the Court disallowed a federal tax on income from real property. The tax was designed to be an indirect tax, which would mean that states need not contribute portions of a whole relative to its census figures. The Court, however, ruled that the tax was a direct tax and subject to apportionment. This was the last in a series of conflicting court decisions dating back to the Civil War. Between 1895 and 1909, when the amendment was passed by Congress, the Court began to back down on its position, as it became clear not only to accountants but to everyone that the solvency of the nation was in jeopardy. In a series of cases, the definition of "direct tax" was modified, bent, twisted, and coaxed to allow more taxation efforts that approached an income tax.

Finally, with the ratification of the 16th Amendment, any doubt was removed. The text of the Amendment makes it clear that though the categories of direct and indirect taxation still exist, any determination that income tax is a direct tax will be irrelevant, because taxes on incomes, from salary or from real estate, are explicitly to be treated as indirect. The Congress passed the Amendment on July 12, 1909, and it was ratified on February 3, 1913 (1,302 days).

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