[reg45]

Repeal of the 16th Amendment would eliminate direct Federal taxation of individuals and businesses. The Federal government could return to assessment of the states as its primary form of revenue. Programs which could be more efficiently handled by the states would return to state control. The IRS could be completely eliminated, along with entire federal departments such as Education, HUD, DoT, etc.

[ancient_geezer]

The Federal government could return to assessment of the states as its primary form of revenue.

The System you talk about was what existed under the Articles of Confederation with the Continental Congess. It was done away with by the ratification of the Constitution, that being one of the primary reasons for the Constitution.

 

Alexander Hamilton, Federalist #21:

• The principle of regulating the contributions of the States to the common treasury by QUOTAS is another fundamental error in the Confederation. Its repugnancy to an adequate supply of the national exigencies has been already pointed out, and has sufficiently appeared from the trial which has been made of it.

• It is a signal advantage of taxes on articles of consumption, that they contain in their own nature a security against excess. They prescribe their own limit; which cannot be exceeded without defeating the end proposed, that is, an extension of the revenue. ... Impositions of this kind usually fall under the denomination of indirect taxes, and must for a long time constitute the chief part of the revenue raised in this country.

  Those of the direct kind, which principally relate to land and buildings, may admit of a rule of apportionment. Either the value of land, or the number of the people, may serve as a standard.

James Madison, Federalist #39:

• "The difference between a federal and national government, as it relates to the OPERATION OF THE GOVERNMENT, is supposed to consist in this, that in the former the powers operate on the political bodies composing the Confederacy, in their political capacities; in the latter, on the individual citizens composing the nation, in their individual capacities. On trying the Constitution by this criterion, it falls under the NATIONAL, not the FEDERAL character;"

James Madison, Federalist #45:

• "The change relating to taxation may be regarded as the most important; and yet the present [Continental] sic Congress have as complete authority to REQUIRE of the States indefinite supplies of money for the common defense and general welfare, as the future [Constitutional] Congress will have to require them of individual citizens;

Wouldn't happen your way because Article I Section 8 provides for the levy of excises, tariffs, and duties without apportionment.

Secondly Article I Section 9, to which you allude, is for the imposition of Federal property and capitation taxes and does not in any way force the federal government to make an assessment of the states. The original direct taxes under the Constitution, allowed for the states to be collectors of property taxes for the Federal government, however the Federal government created its own assessors and administration authority requiring the states to abide by the Federal government's assessment of the value of private property for purposes of that tax, as well as reserving the Federal government's authority to come in and collect property taxes directly from the land owners whenever a state failed in its duty to the federal government.

I refer you to one of the first acts of Congress implementing the administrative infrastructure for Federal direct taxes:

United States Statutes at Large
Thirteenth Congress Session. I. Ch. 16. 1813

Now if that's the kind of tax you like, You are more than welcome to it. Seems to me that even the income tax with all of it's faults is less oppressive on the individual.

Personally I would much rather see a National Retail Sales tax, administered by the states as called for in Linder's bill.