What provoked me to this is my nomination, Justinprime, making this incredibly stupid string of words,
Indeed you are Justin, indeed. Let me just make one comment here. The next time you quote "the Supreme Court Decision" say that "the 16th Amendment gave Congress no newe power to tax" read the whole damn case. That way you'll know, that the 16 amendment may not have given the congress new powers to tax income (they had that power all along) but it was passed pretty much because of a Supreme Court Decision about RENT and whether RENT was income and as such, taxable. The 16th amendment cleared that up, making RENTS, along with any other money that come in from any source (not borrowed) or not specifically excluded, income. Taxable income.Tparty76, I'm glad you asked this. I've been going back to basics recently and have been wondering this myself. Where is that taxable activity line? We know that it involves the federal government, no question ('or a "State", which is the feds). So no matter what it is we're trying to decide, we need to ask, "Does this involve the feds in any way?" If so, then "Am i engaging in a privilege? What privilege?" When it comes to working for yourself, that should be pretty obvious. But as far as others, they should know if they are merely using their right to work or working for the feds in some capacity.
As far as rents go... my assumption would be that if an entity were incorporated under the laws of the "United States" that the privilege the entity is exercising is the privilege of having the corporate status, being a lawfully-recognized artificial entity, with the consent of the feds. Any profits made from, derived from, such status falls under "income". I honestly don't know what would constitute a profit from renting though.
Hope that helps. I'm still figuring out the nuances as well.
And while I'm ranting, I can clear up that "what federal privileges" question for you, too. Cashing a paycheck is the federal privilege that makes money they pay you to work taxable. You can work for free, you can live on tax free munis, you can make less than the minimum amount, or you can pay taxes. Anything else is pretty much gonna create problems for you down the line.
