Where does it state that the United States government can legally collect taxes?

Answer 1

Look behind the barrel of a 9mm. I think it is stated pretty clearly there.

Answer 2

Article II: ... The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes..."

Amendment XVI. 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.

Answer 3

This question has come up before in this blog. In 1913, the US government passed the first Federal income tax and it was imposed (under Article I, section 8, clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution) during the Civil War, then again in the 1890s, and again after the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified in 1913. Current income taxes are imposed under these constitutional provisions and various sections of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including 26 U.S.C. § 1 (imposing income tax on the taxable income of individuals, estates and trusts) and 26 U.S.C. § 11 (imposing income tax on the taxable income of corporations).
For individuals, Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is gross income less any above-the-line deductions (§ 62). Above-the-line deductions are listed in § 62 and include trade or business deductions, alimony (§ 215), and moving expenses (§ 217). Taxable income is AGI less (1) itemized deductions or the applicable standard deduction, whichever is greater, and (2) a deduction for any allowable personal exemptions for the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse (if filing jointly), and the taxpayer's dependents. (In certain cases involving higher income taxpayers, the allowed personal exemptions may be reduced or even eliminated.)

Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution (the "Taxing and Spending Clause"), specifies Congress's power to impose "Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises," but Article I, Section 9 requires that, "Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States."

In addition, the Constitution specifically limited Congress' ability to impose direct taxes, by requiring it to distribute direct taxes in proportion to each state's census population. It was thought that head taxes and property taxes (slaves could be taxed as either or both) were likely to be abused, and that they bore no relation to the activities in which the federal government had a legitimate interest. The fourth clause of section 9 therefore specifies that, "No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken."

Taxation was also the subject of Federalist No. 33 penned secretly by the Federalist Alexander Hamilton under the pseudonym Publius. In it, he explains that the wording of the "Necessary and Proper" clause should serve as guidelines for the legislation of laws regarding taxation.

You can choose NOT to pay income tax, but if you do you are in for a fight you will never win.

Answer 4

"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."

Answer 5

Article I Section 8 of the Constitution allows Congress to levy taxes.

The 16th Amendment -- ratified over 90 years ago and confirmed as ratified by the US Supreme Court on numerous occasions -- specifically allows for income taxes.

Title 26 of the US Code -- enacted as law by Congress and repeatedly upheld by federal courts for decades -- sets forth the specific rules for levying and collecting taxes.

And 26 USC 7203 makes it a crime to not pay taxes.