Which amendment granted Congress the power to levy an income tax without apportionment among the states?

• A. 16th Amendment
• B. 20th Amendment
• C. 24th Amendment
• D. 25th Amendment

Answer: (A)

This question tests understanding of how the federal government gained authority to levy an income tax without apportionment among the states. Before the 16th Amendment, income taxes were treated as direct taxes that had to be apportioned among states by population, and a Supreme Court ruling in Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. (1895) held such a tax unconstitutional if it wasn’t apportioned. The 16th Amendment, ratified in 1913, explicitly gives Congress the power to lay and collect taxes on incomes from any source, without apportionment among the states or regard to census. This change made a modern federal income tax system feasible and provided a reliable revenue source for the government in the early 20th century. The other amendments listed do different things: one revised the timing of presidential terms, another outlawed poll taxes in federal elections, and another deals with presidential succession and disability.