Biden’s Big Wealth Tax? Unconstitutional

One part of President Biden’s budget that deserves more attention is his stealth wealth tax, because it looks unconstitutional. He’s selling it as a 25% “minimum tax” on billionaire incomes, but see the fine print. The tax would apply to “those with wealth of more than $100 million,” while covering “all of their income, including appreciated assets.”

Slight problem: Appreciated assets are not income. The Constitution bans the federal government from imposing “direct taxes,” unless they are apportioned among the states according to population. To get around that, Congress in 1909 passed the 16th Amendment, which for a century has permitted the feds “to lay and collect taxes on incomes.”