The Taxing and Spending Clause[1] (which contains provisions known as the General Welfare Clause[2] and the Uniformity Clause[3]), Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, grants the federal government of the United States its power of taxation. While authorizing Congress to levy taxes, this clause permits the levying of taxes for two purposes only: to pay the debts of the United States, and to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States. Taken together, these purposes have traditionally been held to imply and to constitute the federal government's taxing and spending power.[4]
^Natelson, Robert G. (2003). "The General Welfare Clause and the Public Trust: An Essay in Original Understanding". Kansas Law Review. 52 (1). Lawrence, KS: Kansas Law Review, Inc.
^Prepared by Devotion Garner; Updated by Cheryl Nyberg (September 30, 2013). "Popular Names of Constitutional Provisions". Seattle, Washington: M.G. Gallagher Law Library, University of Washington School of Law. Retrieved July 28, 2014.