The Confederate constitution says that the only direct taxes the national government can impose are ones proportional to state populations. Which is basically what the US Constitution says, too, down to slaves counting 3/5s.
Neither a sales tax nor an income tax is legal under those rules.
Of course, the Union ignored that, and the CSA might, too.
OTL, the US passed an amendment to make income tax legal.
I doubt the CSA could get the state ratifications necessary to do the same. But lots of things are possible.
Going to be rough funding a Confederate military---they're allergic to tariffs, which is how the US mostly did things back in those days. I don't see them liking a federal income tax either. They'd probably be stuck making tax assessments against the states---like paying your dues, proportionate to population, and have the states sort it out individually. I don't know how well that would work.
Perhaps it’d drive the CSA apart? (After all, under their Constitution isn’t secession legal?)Going to be rough funding a Confederate military---they're allergic to tariffs, which is how the US mostly did things back in those days. I don't see them liking a federal income tax either. They'd probably be stuck making tax assessments against the states---like paying your dues, proportionate to population, and have the states sort it out individually. I don't know how well that would work.
Perhaps it’d drive the CSA apart? (After all, under their Constitution isn’t secession legal?)
Perhaps it’d drive the CSA apart? (After all, under their Constitution isn’t secession legal?)
Entirely unconstitutional, indeed.Not at all. It actually says "permanent union" in the preamble to their Constitution.