The amendment that grants the power to tax individuals is?

• A. Thirteenth
• B. Fifteenth
• C. Sixteenth
• D. Nineteenth

Answer: (C)

The main idea this question tests is which constitutional change authorizes a federal income tax. The Sixteenth Amendment does that. It lets Congress lay and collect taxes on incomes from any source, without needing to divide the tax among the states by population and without regard to a census. This removed the old requirement that direct taxes be apportioned and made a national income tax feasible, which is why we have the modern system of taxes on individuals’ earnings.

The other amendments listed address social and voting rights—ending slavery, protecting voting rights regardless of race, and granting women the right to vote. They don’t establish or restrict the power to tax income, so they’re not about how the government collects taxes.