The federal income tax did not exist for the first 137 years of our independence.  When the 16th Amendment allowed Congress to create it in 1913, the explosive growth and intrusions of the federal government began.  For example, until this monster was conceived, the government had no power to view a person’s financial records unless a warrant was granted upon probable cause that a crime had been committed.  With this tax, the practice was invented that requires each citizen to record financial activities that were always previously informal and effortlessly unrecorded – and then “search” these records and report them to the government.  The 4th Amendment protection against this invasion of privacy was, in practice, abolished. 

Instead of preserving this abusive system, the income tax is what should be abolished.  The greatest growth of our economy versus the rest of the world was nurtured by reliance on import duties, excise taxes, and so forth.  So was our Liberty.  Let’s get that doing again.

 

Tennessee must recognize the great achievements of its citizens in keeping its politicians in line by rising up and crushing errant moves to establish a state income tax. Whatever is taxed is, in effect, being punished. Tennessee taxes come mostly from sales tax - transactions we choose to make with full awareness of the taxes imposed. That keeps our state government under some control, and we must preserve that rein on government.