gistfile1.txt

Three considerations allay this concern. First, and most importantly, it is abundantly clear the Constitution does not guarantee that individuals may avoid taxation through
inactivity.  A capitation, after all, is a tax that everyone must pay simply for existing, and capitations are expressly contemplated by the Constitution.  The Court 
today holds that our Constitution protects us from federal regulation under the Commerce Clause so long as we abstain from the regulated activity.  But from its creation, the Constitution has made no such promise with respect to taxes. See Letter from Benjamin Franklin to M. Le Roy (Nov. 13, 1789) (“Our new Constitution is now established . . . but in this world nothing can be said to be certain,
except death and taxes”).