what is the 16th amendment

The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed by Congress in 1909 and ratified on February 3, 1913. The amendment grants Congress the power to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states on the basis of population. Before the amendment, a nationwide income tax was effectively impossible because of an 1895 Supreme Court decision that had made it difficult to impose such a tax. The amendment reversed this decision and allowed Congress to tax income without the hobbling apportionment requirement. The amendment exempts only "taxes on incomes" from the apportionment rule that otherwise applies to direct taxes. The 16th Amendment played a central role in building up the powerful American federal government of the twentieth century by making it possible to enact a modern, nationwide income tax.