Also known as: taxing and spending powers · Spending Power · Taxing Power
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional grant of authority empowering Congress to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises and to spend the proceeds for the general welfare of the United States. The power permits Congress to attach conditions to federal grants offered to the states when those conditions are clearly stated, promote the general welfare, relate to the federal interest in the funded program, and do not induce states to violate other constitutional provisions.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Timothy Tang, the director of a state sports authority, applied for federal arena construction funds. The grant terms required the state to raise the minimum purchase age for high-proof beverages near venues and impose curfews for fans under twenty-one. The state enacted the rules to receive the money and completed the project without coercion claims arising.
Talia Torres, a university student, challenged the denial of funding for a religious magazine from mandatory student fees. The university had collected the fees under its spending authority but refused support on viewpoint grounds. The court required equal access to the collected funds for all qualifying student groups.
Tracy Torres paid federal taxes and objected to a surplus property conveyance to a religious college. The transfer occurred under property authority rather than a taxing and spending measure. The court denied standing because no specific congressional appropriation was at issue.
Tanya Tang led a state agency that declined federal incentives for waste site development. The conditions required the state to take title to waste or enact specific regulations. The court held that the spending offer could not cross into direct commandeering of state legislative processes.
Tobias Thomas operated a steamboat company affected by federal channel improvements funded through appropriations. The spending advanced interstate commerce interests by clearing obstructions. The court upheld the expenditure as within Congress's authority to promote general welfare through navigation projects.
Tonya Takahashi received a federal grant for hospital construction that later faced partial cancellation. The cancellation targeted specific spending items after enactment. The court ruled the mechanism exceeded the constitutional limits on altering enacted appropriations.
Conditions must promote the general welfare, be stated unambiguously, relate to the federal interest in the funded program, and avoid inducing states to violate other constitutional provisions. Financial pressure must also remain below the level of coercion. These limits ensure states retain a meaningful choice whether to accept the funds.
Supporting sources
…of contexts, that government may execute laws or programs that adversely affect recognized economic values. Exercises of the taxing power are one obvious example. A second are the decisions in which this Court has dismissed “taking” challenges on the ground that, while the challenged government action caused economic harm, it…
…one House of Congress to have been guilty. [^maj-9]: When Congress grants particular individuals relief or benefits under its
…to the activities in which the states have traditionally engaged as marking the boundary of the restriction upon the federal taxing power. But there is no such limitation upon the plenary
…or groups because they hold religious views abhorrent to the authorities, Fowler v. Rhode Island , 345 U. S. 67; nor employ the taxing power to inhibit the dissemination of particular religious views, Murdock v. Pennsylvania , 319 U. S. 105; Follett v. McCormick , 321 U. S. 573; cf. Grosjean v. American Press Co. , 297 U. S.…
…that one of the specific evils feared by those who drafted the Establishment Clause and fought for its adoption was that the taxing and spending power
The amendment grants states substantial authority over alcohol distribution but does not bar Congress from using conditional spending to encourage related policies. Conditions tied to the federal interest in a funded program, such as arena safety, remain valid when states may decline the funds. Direct federal mandates would raise different concerns.
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An exaction operates as a tax when it is collected by the IRS with income tax returns, scaled to a measure of income or revenue, and capable of raising substantial revenue. The label Congress chooses does not control. Regulatory purposes do not disqualify the measure if these operational features are present.
Supporting sources
No. Conditions must bear a reasonable relationship to the federal interest in the particular program. Unrelated conditions risk invalidation because they exceed the nexus required for valid conditional spending. Courts examine the connection between the condition and the grant's objectives.
Supporting sources