If I’m not mistaken, a tax on consumption would pass Constitutional muster, whereas a tax on “income” does not.
Is this correct?
“If I’m not mistaken, a tax on consumption would pass Constitutional muster, whereas a tax on ‘income’ does not.”
The founders rejected the notion of an income tax, which is why the 16th amendment had to be ratified. An income tax had been tried a couple of times in the 19th century (most notably to help finance the Civil War), but the Supreme Court struck down an income tax sometime after that. The 16th amendment was ratified in 1913, I think.
We believe that the founders got it right and the legislatures (both state and federal) of the early 20th century were wrong. I won’t even get into the controversy over whether the 16th was duly ratified or not.