Which amendment authorizes Congress to levy an income tax?

Which amendment authorizes Congress to levy an income tax?

• A. Sixth Amendment
• B. Sixteenth Amendment
• C. Eighth Amendment
• D. Twenty-Third Amendment

Answer: (B)

The key idea is recognizing which constitutional change explicitly gives Congress the power to tax income. The Sixteenth Amendment does just that: it grants Congress the authority to lay and collect taxes on incomes from any source, without having to apportion those taxes among the states or consider census results. This clarified and enabled the modern federal income tax system, overcoming earlier rulings that had treated income taxes as unconstitutional unless apportioned. The other amendments refer to different topics—one protects the rights of people accused in trials, another limits punishments, and another extends presidential electoral votes to residents of the capital—so they don’t address income tax authority.

The key idea is recognizing which constitutional change explicitly gives Congress the power to tax income. The Sixteenth Amendment does just that: it grants Congress the authority to lay and collect taxes on incomes from any source, without having to apportion those taxes among the states or consider census results. This clarified and enabled the modern federal income tax system, overcoming earlier rulings that had treated income taxes as unconstitutional unless apportioned. The other amendments refer to different topics—one protects the rights of people accused in trials, another limits punishments, and another extends presidential electoral votes to residents of the capital—so they don’t address income tax authority.