united-states constitutional-law us-constitution legislature tax-law
What is meant by direct Taxes in Article 1 Section 2 in the US Constitution?
<p>I am new when it comes to understanding the US Constitution and I am not comfortable with Section 2, Paragraph 3  of Article 1!</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned
among the several States which may be included within
this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which
shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of
free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term
of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of
all other Persons.]* The actual Enumeration shall be made
within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress
of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of
ten Years, in such Manner, as they shall by Law direct. The
The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every
thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at least one
Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made,
the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse
three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence
Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New
Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland
six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five,
and Georgia three.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What is meant by &quot;direct taxes&quot; in Article 1 Section 2 Paragraph 3?</p>
<p><em><strong>Note:</strong></em> I have done research on Law SE but found nothing which relates to the answer I'm looking for.</p>
<p>Some relevant link:
<a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/constitution.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/constitution.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CONAN-1992/pdf/GPO-CONAN-1992-6.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CONAN-1992/pdf/GPO-CONAN-1992-6.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.senate.gov/civics/resources/pdf/US_Constitution-Senate_Publication_103-21.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.senate.gov/civics/resources/pdf/US_Constitution-Senate_Publication_103-21.pdf</a></p>

<p>Direct taxes were understood at that time as taxes directly on individuals such as a flat-per-person head tax (poll tax,aka a capitation) or an <em>ad valorem</em> (by value) property tax. Taxes on imports and exports, and excise or &quot;use&quot; taxes, such as a tax on the manufacture and sale of whiskey, were not considered to be direct taxes.</p>
<p>In 2007 a US Court of Appeals said, in <em>Murphy v. Internal Revenue Service and United States</em>, (case no. 05-5139, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit) that: &quot;Only three taxes are definitely known to be direct: (1) a capitation [ . . . ], (2) a tax upon real property, and (3) a tax upon personal property.&quot;</p>
<p>In section 17 of <em>Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Company</em> (link below) the Supreme Court wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Ordinarily, all taxes paid primarily by persons who can shift the
burden upon some one else, or who are under no legal compulsion to pay
them, are considered indirect taxes; but a tax upon property holders
in respect of their estates, whether real or personal, or of the
income yielded by such estates, and the payment of which cannot be
avoided, are direct taxes.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This opinion goes into great detail on the history of the apportionment clause, and of direct and indirect taxes.</p>
<p>See also <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_tax" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Wikipedia article on Direct Tax</a>.</p>
<p>After a na6tional income tax was imposed in 1894, it was held (in 1895) to be unconstitutional under this provision. This was in <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/157/429" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Company</em>, 157 US 429  (1895)</a>. An earlier income tax was passed in 1861, and repealed about 10 years later without challenge. The <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxvi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">16th amendment</a> was passed (ratified in 1913) to declare income taxes not to be subject to this provision. See <a href="https://www.loc.gov/rr/business/hottopic/irs_history.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">History of the US Income Tax</a> and the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/income_tax" rel="nofollow noreferrer">LII page on Income Tax</a>.</p>
<p>To the best of my understanding, no current federal tax is considered a direct tax subject to apportionment under this provision. Indeed the apportionment requirement, which was copied from the previous articles of Confederation, was so awkward that taxes which would be subject to it were never or almost never imposed, but ways were found to make any desired taxes not &quot;direct&quot;. This provision is, accordingly, obsolete as far as taxes go.</p>
