Direct Tax Clause of the United States Constitution

E245901

constitutional clause provision of the United States Constitution

The Direct Tax Clause of the United States Constitution is a provision that restricts the federal government from imposing direct taxes unless they are apportioned among the states according to population.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Direct Tax Clause of the United States Constitution canonical	2
Congress may impose direct taxes on the District of Columbia	1
Direct Tax Clause	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2219668 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Direct Tax Clause of the United States Constitution
Context triple: [Hylton v. United States, appliedProvision, Direct Tax Clause of the United States Constitution]

A. Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1913, authorized the federal government to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the U.S. Census.
B. Taxing and Spending Clause
The Taxing and Spending Clause is a provision of the U.S. Constitution that grants Congress the power to levy taxes and allocate federal funds to promote the general welfare of the United States.
C. A Treatise on the Principles and Practical Influence of Taxation and the Funding System
A Treatise on the Principles and Practical Influence of Taxation and the Funding System is a 19th-century economic work by John Ramsay McCulloch that systematically analyzes taxation, public finance, and government debt and their effects on the economy.
D. Revenue Act of 1913
The Revenue Act of 1913 was a landmark U.S. law that reintroduced a federal income tax and significantly lowered tariffs, reshaping the nation’s fiscal policy in the early 20th century.
E. Compact Clause of the United States Constitution
The Compact Clause of the United States Constitution is the provision that restricts states from entering into agreements or compacts with other states or foreign powers without the consent of Congress.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Direct Tax Clause of the United States Constitution
Target entity description: The Direct Tax Clause of the United States Constitution is a provision that restricts the federal government from imposing direct taxes unless they are apportioned among the states according to population.

A. Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1913, authorized the federal government to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the U.S. Census.
B. Taxing and Spending Clause
The Taxing and Spending Clause is a provision of the U.S. Constitution that grants Congress the power to levy taxes and allocate federal funds to promote the general welfare of the United States.
C. A Treatise on the Principles and Practical Influence of Taxation and the Funding System
A Treatise on the Principles and Practical Influence of Taxation and the Funding System is a 19th-century economic work by John Ramsay McCulloch that systematically analyzes taxation, public finance, and government debt and their effects on the economy.
D. Revenue Act of 1913
The Revenue Act of 1913 was a landmark U.S. law that reintroduced a federal income tax and significantly lowered tariffs, reshaping the nation’s fiscal policy in the early 20th century.
E. Compact Clause of the United States Constitution
The Compact Clause of the United States Constitution is the provision that restricts states from entering into agreements or compacts with other states or foreign powers without the consent of Congress.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	constitutional clause ⓘ provision of the United States Constitution ⓘ
appliesTo	United States federal government ⓘ linked to: United States government capitation taxes imposed by Congress ⓘ direct taxes on real property imposed by Congress ⓘ
authorityOver	Congress of the United States ⓘ linked to: United States Congress
cameIntoForce	1789 ⓘ
category	Clauses of Article One of the United States Constitution ⓘ Taxation clauses of the United States Constitution ⓘ linked to: Taxing and Spending Clause
constitutionalFunction	allocation of taxing power between federal government and states ⓘ protection of states from disproportionate federal direct taxation ⓘ
country	United States of America ⓘ
dateEnacted	1788 ⓘ
distinguishedFrom	Indirect Tax Clause of the United States Constitution ⓘ Uniformity Clause ⓘ
draftedDuring	Constitutional Convention of 1787 ⓘ linked to: Constitutional Convention
enforcedBy	federal courts of the United States ⓘ linked to: federal judiciary of the United States
foundInDocument	Article I of the United States Constitution ⓘ
foundInSection	Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution ⓘ Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution ⓘ
hasLanguage	English ⓘ
hasTextFragment	No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken ⓘ Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers ⓘ
historicallyAssociatedWith	Three-Fifths Compromise ⓘ representation in the House of Representatives ⓘ
influencedBy	concerns of smaller states about proportional taxation ⓘ debates over slavery and representation ⓘ
interpretedBy	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
interpretedInCase	Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co. ⓘ Hylton v. United States ⓘ Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. ⓘ
jurisdiction	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
legalEffect	limits federal power to levy direct taxes without apportionment ⓘ
partOf	United States Constitution ⓘ
relatedToClause	Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ
relatesTo	apportionment of taxes ⓘ direct taxes ⓘ federal taxation ⓘ
requires	apportionment of direct taxes among the states according to population ⓘ that direct taxes be apportioned among the several states ⓘ use of census population for apportionment of direct taxes ⓘ
restricts	power of Congress to impose direct taxes ⓘ
subjectMatter	constitutional law ⓘ tax law ⓘ
typeOfTaxAddressed	capitation tax ⓘ direct tax on property ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Hylton v. United States → appliedProvision → Direct Tax Clause of the United States Constitution ⓘ

Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution → containsClause → Direct Tax Clause ⓘ

linked to: Direct Tax Clause of the United States Constitution

Indirect Tax Clause of the United States Constitution → contrastsWith → Direct Tax Clause of the United States Constitution ⓘ

Loughborough v. Blake → holding → Congress may impose direct taxes on the District of Columbia ⓘ