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| | ===Direct Taxation=== | | ===Direct Taxation=== |
| − | Any activity or right that is taxed is necessarily infringed. In ''McCulloch vs. Maryland'', U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall observed that “the power to tax involves the power to destroy.” The fiscal encumbrance of any unalienable right, therefore, is a violation of that right and may lead to its destruction. For that reason, the taxing power of Congress is strictly limited. It is divided into two broad classes which may not be violated: ''Direct'' with apportionment; and ''Indirect'' with uniformity. | + | Any activity or right that is taxed is necessarily infringed. In ''McCulloch vs. Maryland'', U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall observed that “the power to tax involves the power to destroy.” The fiscal encumbrance of any unalienable right, therefore, is a violation of that right and may lead to its destruction. For that reason, the taxing power of Congress is strictly limited. For example, churches are not taxed. |
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| − | Congress has two choices. It may tax certain commodities and activities which are not necessary to the enjoyment of unalienable rights, thus making such a tax '''Indirect'''. (No one has to pay it unless they voluntarily choose to buy the specified commodity or engage in the specified activity.) Or, Congress may tax certain rights through apportionment among the states, thus making the tax '''mandatory''' or '''Direct''', but politically unpopular. No other kinds of taxes are permitted. All must fall within one of these two categories.
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| − | Under Direct taxation, Congress may tax the right to own, accumulate, earn, and spend private property, such as land or money. But all such taxes must be apportioned among the states. On the other hand, Indirect taxation empowers Congress to impose a duty on certain imports, or to levy excises on certain commodities, such as tobacco and alcohol. Indirect taxation also allows the government to tax gains resulting from the use of federal power, property, or privilege. This includes such things as federally-connected occupations, offices, licenses, and investments. But the tax in these cases must be uniform throughout the United States. If a tax falls outside these parameters, it is unconstitutional.
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| − | IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE that in the vast majority of situations where God-given rights are legally infringed or suspended, it is not all rights which are affected, but only a few particular rights, and only for a particular purpose and brief duration. (The obvious exception is when a person has been found guilty of a capital crime and is sentenced to death.) Aside from these special circumstances, the government cannot restrict, suspend, cancel, or even tax the exercise of any unalienable right. The People of America are sovereign, and they have informed their servant government that it cannot arbitrarily interfere with their inheritance from God.
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| | == Threats & Safeguards == | | == Threats & Safeguards == |