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> The whole basis of the US tax system rides on the "General Welfare" clause No, it rides on the 16th amendment which explicitly authorized income taxes. "The
by gnaritas 11y ago
> The whole basis of the US tax system rides on the "General Welfare" clause
No, it rides on the 16th amendment which explicitly authorized income taxes.
"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."
- ones_and_zeros 11y agoNo, the US gov't was able to set taxes well well before the 16th Amendment, which as you point out, is only for income taxes. The US gov't had all sorts of taxes before the 16th Amendment and the justification for that as outlined in the US Constitution is for the general welfare.[0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxing_and_Spending_Clause https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxing_and_Spending_Clause
- gnaritas 11y agoWe were discussing income taxes; and income taxes existed before the 16th as well, based on other tax clauses until the courts ruled the direct taxes and thus unconstitutional. You're correct about the general welfare clause as the basis for most taxes, but it's not the basis for income taxes which is what "taxes" mean generally when people are discussing taxes.