Congress grappled with the question of how to salvage the income tax for more than a decade before submitting the 16th Amendment to the states for ratification:

"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." (16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution)

The next two questions cover important things that must be kept in mind about this Amendment.