Why We Pay Taxes
This is mainly in response to showedthelaw.com although I don’t expect to receive anything from him for it. Some people get ideas in their head and no matter how much convincing you try to do they won’t listen to you. I think Ed from that website is one of these people and I expect he will go to jail for several years for tax evasion if he doesn’t pay his taxes.
The first time the Government made US citizens pay income taxes was to help with the cost of the Civil War. Then in the 1909’s they started working on the 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified on February 3, 1913. The 16th Amendment states:
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.
From my research it appears that the 16th amendment was ratified correctly because there was a majority of states to ratify it before it was proclaimed a law. In fact 42/50 or 84% of the states approved the 16th amendment.
The Civil War and the 16th amendment allowed the current US tax code to be written to define explicitly how the citizens will be taxed. With regards to income tax on individuals the following section is relevant.
TITLE 26 > Subtitle A > CHAPTER 1 > Subchapter A > PART I > § 1
In Ed’s case since he is married the following rules apply.
| If taxable income is: | The tax is: |
|---|---|
| Not over $36,900 | 15% of taxable income. |
| Over $36,900 but not over $89,150 | $5,535, plus 28% of the excess over $36,900. |
| Over $89,150 but not over $140,000 | $20,165, plus 31% of the excess over $89,150. |
| Over $140,000 but not over $250,000 | $35,928.50, plus 36% of the excess over $140,000. |
| Over $250,000 | $75,528.50, plus 39.6% of the excess over $250,000. |
The US tax code is published every year by the US House of Representatives which you can download from their website. The link to the Cornell Law School website just provides a bit easier method of reading and searching the tax code. The IRS is just following the law and collecting the taxes that we all must pay because Congress says it is a law we must follow if you expect to live within the United States of America.
During the Civil War at the same time they enacted the income tax, President Lincoln and Congress also created the office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue whose position still exists today as head of the IRS. This law that was passed is called The Revenue Act of 1862. If you still don’t believe me here is a copy of the law from the Library of Congress, you can see it down at the bottom of the page.
So you might say well forget the 16th Amendment and that other silly little law Revenue Act of 1862 I want to see proof that our Founding Fathers gave the authority to Congress to pass such laws. It turns out there is proof and its in the main body of the Constitution. Article I > Section 8:
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
The 16th Amendment was just that, an addition, a clarification of what was originally written by the Founding Fathers. So until we come up with a different Constitution (or Amendment) saying we don’t have to pay taxes I suggest everyone continue to do so.
So here is a diagram for the reading impaired. (click to view)
Sources:
Dan said,
Wrote on June 22, 2007 @ 9:24 am
So, the best argument I heard on this topic is that the 16th was not ratified properly. It had to do with when certain states became states. What have you heard on this?
llbbl said,
Wrote on June 22, 2007 @ 3:58 pm
It was ratified correctly. At the time there was only two states, Alaska and Hawaii that didn’t exist yet. Arizona and New Mexico became states a year before in 1912. If you read more about the arguments against it, you will see that they are not very good and have not stood up in court.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_protester_constitutional_arguments