H.J.R. 20

1

JOINT RESOLUTION URGING CONGRESS TO REPEAL
2 THE 16TH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES
3 CONSTITUTION
4 2011 GENERAL SESSION
5 STATE OF UTAH
6 Chief Sponsor: Carl Wimmer
7 Senate Sponsor: ____________
8
9 LONG TITLE
10 General Description:
11 This joint resolution of the Legislature urges Congress to repeal the 16th Amendment to
12 the United States Constitution.
13 Highlighted Provisions:
14 This resolution:
15 . urges the United States Congress to repeal the 16th Amendment to the United States
16 Constitution, which authorizes the federal government to collect a federal income
17 tax.
18 Special Clauses:
19 None
20
21 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
22 WHEREAS, the framers of the United States Constitution sought to balance the power
23 between the federal government and the states as a system of checks and balances;
24 WHEREAS, one of the framers' methods of striking this balance was to prohibit the
25 government from collecting taxes from individuals in Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution,
26 which states in part, "No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to
27 the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken";

28 WHEREAS, this wording allowed the federal government to collect revenue from the
29 states according to population, but left the method of collection to the states;
30 WHEREAS, the federal government was to collect revenue in other, less intrusive
31 ways, like tariffs, excise taxes, and consumption taxes, which would limit the amount of money
32 it could raise by its own authority;
33 WHEREAS, "capitations" or "head taxes" were regarded by many of the Founding
34 Fathers as options of last resort, only to be imposed in war or other emergency;
35 WHEREAS, for example, the first federal income tax was imposed to raise funds for
36 the Civil War and was repealed in 1872;
37 WHEREAS, in 1894, the United States Congress passed a new version of the federal
38 income tax which the United States Supreme Court declared unconstitutional;
39 WHEREAS, in 1909, Congress again proposed a federal income tax that was ratified by
40 the states as the 16th Amendment in 1913;
41 WHEREAS, the 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution states, "The
42 Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived,
43 without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or
44 enumeration";
45 WHEREAS, although the income tax imposed in 1913 applied to only 2% of the labor
46 force and its highest rate was 7%, it gave the federal government access to a rich revenue
47 source to fund programs addressing such challenges as crime, education, and welfare;
48 WHEREAS, these challenges are more appropriately left to the states to solve, and the
49 revenue collected in the states according to population, as the framers originally intended,
50 collected as needed to address them; and
51 WHEREAS, a return to the method of taxation envisioned by the framers requires the
52 repeal of the 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution:
53 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah
54 urges the United States Congress to repeal the 16th Amendment to the Constitution of the
55 United States.
56 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Majority
57 Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
58 and to the members of Utah's congressional delegation.

Legislative Review Note
as of 1-31-11 8:44 AM

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel