Springer v. United States

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SPRINGER V. UNITED STATES

SPRINGER V. UNITED STATES, 102 U.S. 586 (1881), a U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of the federal income tax that had existed from 1864 to 1872. By a 7 to 0 vote, the Court rejected the claim that an income tax was a "direct tax" prohibited by the Constitution unless apportioned among the states. The Court concluded that only taxes on real estate and capitation taxes were direct taxes. Although it rendered a seemingly contrary decision in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust (1895), the constitutionality of an income tax was confirmed with the adoption of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913.

Richard L.Aynes

See alsoIncome Tax Cases ; Taxation .

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