Where in the US Constitution does it say that you have to pay the income tax?
No, that's not true.As initially ratified, the Constitution authorized Congress to collect taxes:The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States...(Emphasis added, Article I, Section 8. Transcript of the Constitution of the United States)Notice that last part? "...[A]ll Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States..."? That clause is what initially did not permit Congress to pass income taxes, for the simple reason that incomes vary widely around the country. But that's not the end of the story, and the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted authorizing the collection of income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the Census. The amendment was adopted in 1913, so it's long-settled law at this point.
Does the U.S Constitution forbid imprisonment for debt, and if so, where?
Thank you for your responses thus far. I'm going to leave this open as long as I can. One reason I ask about this is that in some movie, the name of which I can't recall, the plot is resolved by reference to this supposed point of Constitutional law. Not that movies are an authoritative source.
Why is article 6 of the constitution important?
Article Six is some leftover stuff that didn't fit into any of the other articles. But they were important so the framers created a new article for them. It says: 1. All debts created before the Constitution was ratified will still be valid after the Constitution is in place. This was the work of Alexander Hamilton, who wanted the new federal govt. to assume the debts that all states had run up under the Revolutionary War. Hamilton had his own reasons for wanting this. After the Revolution, people thought the war bonds would not be paid, just as you wouldn't pay debts that were incurred before you were born. So Hamilton sent people to all the states to buy up these old war bonds for a few cents on the dollar. Then he got the government to pay them off in full, and he became a very rich man. 2. Treaties made by the federal govt. shall be the law of the land. In other words, only the federal govt. could make treaties with other countries, and those treaties would have the same effect as laws made at home. 3. Federal elected officials would swear an oath to defend the Constitution. And no religious test would ever be required for public office, or to work in the federal govt.
What does the constitution say about government intervention in the economy?
You can post a site dealing with this issue or just tell me at what points in the constitution does it say stuff about government intervention in the economy. I have a project where I have to tell if it is unconstitutional or not for the government to intervene in the economy and give examples and stuff like that. Please help, and thanks in advance.
Where in the US Constitution is the 'Common Good' mentioned? What exactly is the 'Common Good'?
The term common good does not appear in the constitution. What does appear is "general welfare" as part of the Spending power. Article I Section 8- Congress has the power to spend money in order to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the US. The ability to spend for the general welfare was upheld in US v. Butler. Likewise, Congress has the discretion to decide what advances general welfare unless the choice is clearly wrong or a display of arbitrary power (Helvering v. Davis) Congress has wide discretion in this area but it is limited( at least in theory in 4 ways) 1. must be used in the pursuit of the general welfare 2. any conditions imposed must be unambiguous so the states may make knowing choices 3. the conditions must be related to the federal interest in particular national programs 4. the conditions must not be barred by other independent constitutional provisions. as laid out in South Dakota v. Dole