Could a US state prevent its citizens from paying federal taxes?
Could a US state prevent its citizens from paying federal taxes?
Just hypothetically, if a state decided to stop receiving money from the federal government as well as intercepting and/or stopping federal income tax payments, could they do it? What might the consequences be?
Please be respectful so that rule 5 doesn't get broken.
Nope. What they could do is tax corporations that collect them at 100% of whatever they collect on behalf of the federal government and then have a state stimulus payment equal to what was collected.
Now that would be a sight to behold!
That would mean that the corporations basically paid people's taxes for them, right? Wouldn't that just get factored into salaries?
No, businesses directly pay the federal government. More insidiously, it's impossible to opt out if you're employed full time; you have to be self employed to get to decide when/if/how much tax you send the federal government.
Apparently before 1943, people paid taxes individually once a year. Then a law was passed requiring their employers to do it regularly instead without their consent.
Could a state order all businesses operating in that state to stop paying taxes?
Yes, by law. Of course the business will abide by federal law before state law because federal law is supreme.
Maybe. But the biggest employers are national if not international. They're gonna withhold federal tax.
That'd be tantamount to seceding, so legally no but practically yes if they want to secede.