Question

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the United States government received most of its income from tariffs, or taxes on imported goods. To pay the tax, the prices of the goods were raised, which caused more of a strain on the poorer people of the nation. Leaders, like William Jennings Bryan, believed that a progressive income tax was a fair and effective way to collect the income the government needed to operate. The Supreme Court, however, disagreed. In Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Company, the court determined that this form of taxation was unconstitutional without being distributed to the states based on population.
What step was necessary for Bryant and his colleagues to complete in order to establish the legal income tax that we still have today?

A They needed to convince the Supreme Court to overturn their decision in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Company.
B They needed to pass a constitutional amendment allowing a federal income tax.
C They needed the president to sign an executive order allowing a federal income tax.
D They needed every state to pass the same income tax laws.

Answer 1

B

They needed to pass a constitutional amendment. The 16th Amendment (ratified 1913) allowed Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states, overturning the effect of Pollock.