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The 16th Amendment doesn't prohibit anything; it only allows things. You could argue that the preceding parts of the constitution prohibit a wealth tax, though
by raldi 7y ago
The 16th Amendment doesn't prohibit anything; it only allows things.
You could argue that the preceding parts of the constitution prohibit a wealth tax, though, and that the 16th doesn't carve out space for one.
- kart23 7y agoYes, and if something is not allowed in the constitution, then the federal government does not have the power to do it. The states could do it, but I find the likelihood of all 50 states adopting a wealth tax to be extremely unlikely. https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-x https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amen...
- raldi 7y agoIf it's popular enough to get through the House and Senate, it would have to be drawing widespread public support across the political spectrum. At that point, there would be a lot of pressure on state legislatures to ratify an amendment. Anyone who voted against it would be putting a target on their back in the next election.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- kart23 7y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#The_Pollock_case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixteenth_Amendment_to_the_Uni... > When, therefore, this court adjudges, as it does now adjudge, that Congress cannot impose a duty or tax upon personal property... including invested personal property, bonds, stocks, and investments of all kinds... The court has clearly ruled on this issue in the past.