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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution severely |
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warps the founders' vision for our constitutional system; and |
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WHEREAS, Passed in 1913, despite warnings of negative impacts |
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on honest citizens, this amendment created authorization for the |
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federal income tax; although the first such tax was very limited, |
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affecting only two percent of the labor force, with a top rate of |
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seven percent, it paved the way for vast federal government |
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overreach; and |
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WHEREAS, The federal government now has almost unlimited |
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ability to fund programs that rightfully fall in the purview of the |
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states, such as education, welfare, and law enforcement; it uses |
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its fiscal power to pressure states into conformance with a |
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national standard in matters that should reflect regional |
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differences; and |
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WHEREAS, The wisest of the nation's founders recoiled at the |
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notion of taxing individuals, regarding such "capitations," or |
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"head taxes," as acceptable only in the event of war or other |
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emergency; therefore, Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution |
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states explicitly: "No capitation, or other direct Tax, shall be |
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laid unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration"; this |
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signified that the federal government could collect revenue from |
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the states according to population, but it must leave the methods of |
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collection to the states; to promote fiscal responsibility and |
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avoid abuse of power, the federal government was required to |
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collect revenue in other, less oppressive ways, such as tariffs and |
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excise or consumption taxes; and |
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WHEREAS, The first federal income tax was imposed during the |
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Civil War and soon repealed; decades later, when Congress assessed |
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a peacetime income tax, the Supreme Court ruled it |
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unconstitutional, citing Article I; this prudent ruling, sadly, was |
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nullified by the 16th Amendment; and |
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WHEREAS, Through the years, bureaucrats and politicians have |
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frequently abused the federal income tax system, using it to |
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undermine the constitutional framework for limiting government and |
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maintaining a balance of powers; this practice has accelerated in |
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recent years, and the income tax has become ever more onerous, |
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complex, and intrusive; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby express support for repealing the 16th Amendment to the |
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United States Constitution; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record |
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as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |