With Trump moving on to tax reform I have been engaged in some interesting discussions.
One of the discussions took us back to Hamilton and Federalist #21. (Unfortunately this was not one of the songs in the musical and so the average American won't have a clue.
"The amount ....by each citizen will in a degree be at his own option, and can be regulated by an attention to his resources ....It is a signal advantage of taxes on articles of consumption that they contain in their own nature a security against excess. They prescribe their own limit, which cannot be exceeded without defeating the end proposed - that is, an extension of the revenue .... If duties are too high, they lessen the consumption; the collection is eluded; and the product to the treasury is not so great as when they are confined within proper and moderate bounds . This forms a complete barrier against material oppression of the citizens by taxes of this class, and is itself a natural limitation of the power of imposing them."
In the above he is setting the foundation for one of the two original taxes permitted in the Constitution; Excise and Direct taxation of the states based on population (Head Tax).
It was not until the 16th Amendment that we had an income tax. Lincoln tried to get one but it was declared unconstitutional. Woodrow Wilson managed to get it passed.
The16th Amendment is one sentence.
"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from what ever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."
I believe at its core, the issue of taxes is really an issue about limited vs expanded government. The founders provided many warnings about taxation and government expansion.
One way or another I hope Trump and Congress make progress on taxes.
One of the discussions took us back to Hamilton and Federalist #21. (Unfortunately this was not one of the songs in the musical and so the average American won't have a clue.
"The amount ....by each citizen will in a degree be at his own option, and can be regulated by an attention to his resources ....It is a signal advantage of taxes on articles of consumption that they contain in their own nature a security against excess. They prescribe their own limit, which cannot be exceeded without defeating the end proposed - that is, an extension of the revenue .... If duties are too high, they lessen the consumption; the collection is eluded; and the product to the treasury is not so great as when they are confined within proper and moderate bounds . This forms a complete barrier against material oppression of the citizens by taxes of this class, and is itself a natural limitation of the power of imposing them."
- Federalist Paper #21, Alexander Hamilton
In the above he is setting the foundation for one of the two original taxes permitted in the Constitution; Excise and Direct taxation of the states based on population (Head Tax).
It was not until the 16th Amendment that we had an income tax. Lincoln tried to get one but it was declared unconstitutional. Woodrow Wilson managed to get it passed.
The16th Amendment is one sentence.
"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from what ever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."
I believe at its core, the issue of taxes is really an issue about limited vs expanded government. The founders provided many warnings about taxation and government expansion.
One way or another I hope Trump and Congress make progress on taxes.
