Original Text
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.
What does the 16th Amendment really mean?
Congress has the power to collect taxes on the money earned by the citizens of the United States, no matter where the money comes from, without distributing the revenue among the States or considering any population census.
The History of Income Tax in the US
During the Civil War, before the U.S. Constitution was even drawn up, Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1861. This legislation was the first to call for an income tax in U.S. History. This tax was to help pay for the war expenses. Although this new law did generate revenue for the United States government, it was quite ineffective; the law was not enforced and, consequently, was repealed ten years later. In 1894, Congress tried again and enacted a flat rate federal income tax. They failed yet again; the U.S. Supreme Court deemed this new nationwide tax unconstitutional because it was not divided with regard to the population of each State.
Passage and Ratification
Over the next two decades, the Democrats in Congress introduced numerous bills that called for a tax on the rich, which would generate more revenue for the country; time and time again, the Republicans thwarted their efforts. Every time the Republicans opposed a tax bill, the Democrats used it as proof that they were the “Party of the Rich.” In April 1909, Democratic Senator Joseph Bailey decided to further expose the Republicans by forcing them to openly oppose yet another income tax bill. He introduced his bill expecting it to get the usual opposition, but ironically many of the more liberal members of the Republican Party supported the bill. Many conservative Republicans, including President Taft and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, tried to demolish the bill. Because the Republican Party was split so widely, they tried to perform a little reverse psychology; they announced that they would support the Bailey Bill, but only if it were an amendment to the Constitution. The conservative Republicans figured that even if Congress passed the amendment, there was no way that enough States would ratify the amendment. The Senate approved the 16th Amendment unanimously by a vote of 77-0 and the House of Representatives approved it by a vote of 318-14. The 16th Amendment passed by Congress on July 2, 1909; this addendum to our Constitution was to allow the Federal government to tax the income of every American without regard to the population of each State. The 16th Amendment was ratified on February 13, 1913. The first state to ratify the amendment was Alabama and the last was New Hampshire.
How the 16th Amendment Affects the US
Every payday, the United States Government gets a hefty cut of all American incomes. The government spends this money on many of the services and programs that support us and the people around us. These programs include Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. The government also uses the revenue gained from income taxes to pay off its debts and to fund our military forces.
Income tax has always been a very controversial issue in American government and politics, especially today. The more money a citizen makes, the more money he owes to Uncle Sam. Should there be tax cuts for the rich? Or should working class taxpayers carry the tax burden?
How the 16th Amendment Affects Me
My parents have to pay taxes; my grandparents have to pay taxes; my aunts and uncles have to pay taxes; and very soon, I will have to pay taxes! It's a little disheartening to know that after I graduate from college I won't be able to keep a great percentage of the money that I will have worked so hard for.
-By mastermansocsci34
I agree that it is a little disheartening to know that a percentage of the money you worked hard for will be collected by Congress. Hopefully, the government spends the money they collect from us to fund programs and services that help support us. Citizens vote for the best candidate for the seats in government to represent the needs of the people. They put their faith in people who will vote on acts and programs that will be passed that are funded by taxpayer's money which will hopefully benefit the nation. This income tax is done in the best interest for the people and nation as a whole and the political cartoon that you have is interesting because it shows the income tax as this giant hippo just eating all the money that doesn't go anywhere.
ReplyDeleteDo you (42 and 34) believe that there should simply be a flat tax, no income tax or just sales tax? I'm curious what you think would work better.
ReplyDelete