How Far Does Congress’ Taxing Power Go?

We the People

National Constitution Center

History, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

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Summary

On Tuesday, December 4, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Moore v. United States. The case concerns a challenge to the “mandatory repatriation tax,” and asks whether the Constitution allows Congress to tax American shareholders for the unrealized earnings of a foreign corporation. In this episode, Akhil Amar of Yale Law School and Anastasia Boden of the Cato Institute join Jeffrey Rosen to break down the arguments on both sides of the case. The conversation touches on the history of taxation in the Founding era, the extent of Congressional power, and the very meaning of the word “taxation.” Resources: Anastasia Boden, Amicus Brief for Petitioners, Moore v. United States Akhil Amar and Vikram Amar, Amicus Brief for Respondents, Moore v. United States Moore v. United States (oral argument via C-SPAN) Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected]. Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Transcript

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0:00.0	On December 4th, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Moore versus United States.
0:04.2	The case concerns a challenge to the mandatory repatriation tax, and it asks whether the Constitution
0:09.6	allows Congress to tax American shareholders for the earnings of a foreign corporation.
0:15.0	Hello friends, I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution
0:20.0	Center and welcome to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:24.8	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase
0:29.8	awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:34.2	In this episode we'll break down the arguments on both sides of the case and we will learn together
0:38.7	about the history of taxation in the founding era, the purpose of the 16th amendment, and the meaning of the word taxation.
0:46.0	Joining me to answer these important questions are two scholars who've written about the history and meaning of the taxing clause, the 16th Amendment, and who
0:54.9	filed briefs on both sides of the case.
0:57.6	The Kilamar is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale, where he teaches
1:02.1	constitutional law in both Yale College and Yale Law School.
1:05.6	He filed a brief in the case in support of the United States.
1:08.8	Aqueel, it is wonderful to welcome you back to We The People.
1:12.1	All was great to be with you, Jeff. Thank you.
1:15.0	Anastasia Bowden is director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies
1:20.0	at the Cato Institute.
1:22.0	Before joining Cato, she was a civil rights attorney
1:24.5	at the Pacific Legal Foundation
1:26.4	where she led the Equality and Opportunity Program.
1:29.8	She co-created the wonderful podcast Dist, which tells the stories behind infamous Supreme Court
	...

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