More Evidence that “Direct Taxes” include Levies on Wealth and Income
My earlier entry provided links to Founding-era sources showing that the Constitution’s category of “direct taxes” included levies on all kinds of wealth and on business profits and income. Direct taxes were not, as often claimed, limited to capitations and real...
Clearing Up the Confusion About the Constitution’s Term “Direct Taxes”
The Supreme Court’s June 20 decision in Moore v. United States continues the long-standing controversy over the Constitution’s distinction between “direct” and “indirect” taxes. Writing for the Court, Justice Brett Kavanagh stated that “Generally...
The Supreme Court Was Wrong About Taxes
Along with some good decisions, Supreme Court justices made some mistakes in the term just ended. One mistake involved taxes—and it is likely to bedevil the court in future cases. Moore v. United States posed the question of whether Congress could tax corporate...