Tax Tyranny Unmasked: Unveiling the Dubious Origins of the 16th Amendment

The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1913, granted Congress the power to levy income taxes without apportionment among the states. The primary justification for the amendment was to provide the federal government with a stable and independent source of revenue to fund its operations and reduce reliance on tariffs and excise taxes. Here are some quotes and statements from that era that reflect the original justification for the 16th Amendment:

1. Senator Nelson Aldrich (1910):

   • "The question now is whether Congress shall be authorized to levy a tax upon income derived from other sources than imports, and as imports are no longer the chief source of revenue, it is a question which presses for immediate decision."
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2. President William Howard Taft (1910):

   • "We must have revenue; we must have more revenue; we cannot have it if we are to repeal the tariff, for that would prostrate the custom-house."
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3. Secretary of the Treasury Franklin MacVeagh (1910):

   • "The income tax, it is believed, should, in some way, be based upon and measured by income as such, and should, if possible, be productive in the very year in which the revenue is needed."
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4. House Speaker Joseph G. Cannon (1910):

   • "Income, it is held, should be made the principal source of federal revenue for all time to come, and the only way to accomplish that end is by a constitutional amendment." -

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6. Congressional Record (1910):

   • "The introduction of the income tax would bring about a just and equitable distribution of the burdens of government, doing away with the existing injustice, and the country demands it."
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7. Congressional Record (1913):

   • "The question of revenue has been decided by the adoption of the Amendment... As I understand it, that Amendment takes from the Government only the right to select the sources of taxation. What the Government shall tax is a question for the Government to decide."

The Income Tax was sold on the belief at the time that the federal government needed a more stable and direct source of revenue. The 16th Amendment was represented as a means to modernize the tax system and provide the government with the flexibility to generate revenue through income taxation, reducing its dependence on tariffs and excise taxes, which were subject to economic fluctuations and changes in trade patterns. Hidden in the quotes above are the real reason for the Income Tax. Government want to take in an ever increasing revenue, relief for international business interests, and want by Congress to impose its version of "a just and equitable distribution of the burdens of government." History has shown that the income tax is anything but stable and that politicians use the flexibility to reward political allies and punish political opponents.