This picture to the right is of a Young Conservatives of Texas at the University of Houston, the image from the club’s Facebook page.
I agree with the sentiment, but to do so would be judged unconstitutional in the highest court in the land because defunding the IRS would violate the 16th Amendment.
Passed by Congress on July 2, 1909. Ratified February 3, 1913.
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.
Note: Article I, section 9 of the Constitution, was modified by amendment 16.
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
The income tax directly taxes individuals who earn income from any source. Using my limited knowledge of the American English lexicon, the income tax authorized by the 16th Amendment contradicts the language of Article 1, Section 9.
This article posted at the Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute: Amdt16.1 Historical Background of the Sixteenth Amendment, in my humble opinion, reflects the mythical ‘case law’ created from thin air by the Supreme Court that decided the income tax is an indirect tax and not a direct tax. Before April 15th of next year, while preparing your income tax return, click your heals together and say
At this juncture, I protest all ‘case law’ I believe to be unqualified per the constitutional definition of the Supreme Law of the Land in Article VI of the Consitution.
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
Article VI implicitly disqualifies any judicial opinion contrary to the text of the Constitution, as amended.
Regardless of the apparent conflicting linguistics, in order to defund the IRS, the 16th Amendment must be repealed.
You could try to click your heels together and say, “There’s no Place Like America before the Sixteenth Amendment!” However, the more effective way would be to introduce such a proposition at your Precinct Convention right after the Primary elections in November 2024.
“What is a Precinct Convention?” you ask. I direct you to The Texas Constitution, ELECTION CODE, TITLE 10. POLITICAL PARTIES, SUBTITLE B. PARTIES NOMINATING BY PRIMARY ELECTION, CHAPTER 174. CONVENTIONS, SUBCHAPTER B. PRECINCT CONVENTIONS
In closing, I ask a rhetorical question. Since the Constitution prohibits direct taxation of individuals, would your rationale for ignoring said income tax, on the basis of it being mislabeled as an indirect tax13 by a Supreme Court opinion, keep you whole?
The appropriate way to defund the IRS is to repeal the 16th Amendment.
John White
Rockwall, Texas
John N. White 