Erik M. Jensen (Case Western) has published The Taxing Power: A Reference Guide to the United States Constitution (Greenwood Press, 2005). Here is the publisher’s description:
The U. S. Constitution contains several limitations on the national taxing power. These limitations are almost always ignored due to the assumption that Congress is unconstrained in imposing taxes. The Taxing Power proves that assumption faulty by illustrating the importance of such limitations as the uniformity rule, the direct-tax apportionment rule, and the Export Clause. By looking at the historical origins of these limitations, Jensen argues that they are essential parts of the Constitution and should be taken seriously, as the founders intended.
One response to “Jensen Publishes New Book on The Taxing Power”
This is an extremely important contribution to the developing body of scholarship reminding us all of the limitations on federal power built into the Constitution. The flip side of the taxing power’s limitations, of course, are the limitations contained in the Spending Power. We explored this topic at length at Chapman Law School in 2001 with a major symposium on the Spending Clause (see http://www.chapman.edu/law/students/lawReview/volume4.asp).
Professor John Eastman