Justices will debate the meaning of ‘income’ under the 16th Amendment
By Richard Rubin and Jess Bravin
Dec. 3, 2023 9:00 am ET
A sweeping ruling by the Supreme Court could upend many rules affecting partnerships, multinational companies and bond investors.Photo: mandel ngan/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
WASHINGTON---A case that could punch holes in the federal tax code heads to the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The court will hear arguments in Moore v. U.S., which challenges a piece of the 2017 tax law that imposed a one-time levy on profits that companies had accumulated outside the U.S. But its implications could reach much further, providing the justices an opportunity to define what Congress can tax under the Constitution---and what it can’t.
26 USC 7701(a)
(9) United States The term “United States” when used in a geographical sense includes only the States and the District of Columbia.
(10) State The term “State” shall be construed to include the District of Columbia, where such construction is necessary to carry out provisions of this title.
7 USC 349 State The term “State” means the States of the Union, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
You may ask, what is my point? 26 USC is the Internal Revenue Code. Its general definitions do not reference the States of the Union. 7 USC is the Agricultural Code.