The
Sixteenth Amendment (
Amendment XVI) to the
United States ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among
the statesA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
or basing it on
CensusThe United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats , electoral votes, and government program funding...
results. This amendment overruled
Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Company, , aff'd on reh'g, , was an important case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the unapportioned income taxes on interest, dividends, and rents imposed by the Income Tax Act of 1894 were, in effect, direct taxes, and were...
(1895), which limited
the Congress'sThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
authority to levy an
income taxAn income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or business . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate tax,...
.
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The
Sixteenth Amendment (
Amendment XVI) to the
United States ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among
the statesA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
or basing it on
CensusThe United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats , electoral votes, and government program funding...
results. This amendment overruled
Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Company, , aff'd on reh'g, , was an important case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the unapportioned income taxes on interest, dividends, and rents imposed by the Income Tax Act of 1894 were, in effect, direct taxes, and were...
(1895), which limited
the Congress'sThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
authority to levy an
income taxAn income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or business . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate tax,...
.
It was ratified on February 3, 1913.
Text
Other Constitutional provisions regarding taxes