Two years ago, my friend texted me, showing me a picture of his paycheck. He, a fourteen-year-old, had been taxed on his income. Confused, I researched if minors could be taxed; and sure enough, the IRS taxes earned income from dependents under 18 (see IRS, Publication 929 [2021], Tax Rules for Children and Dependents). My problem is this: why would I, and other minors, be taxed by a government we did not choose? We have no say in how our hard-earned money is used or whose paycheck we are funding—because we cannot vote. My money is used by a system I have had no say in.
The “kiddie tax” was a part of the 1986 Tax Reform Act. At the time, it was intended to prevent parents from shifting wealth to their children, avoiding taxation (Thomson Reuters tax and accounting). However, it also allows for taxation on the earned income of minors.
As a lover of American history, our Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, I am well acquainted with the concept of “no taxation without representation.” A rallying cry among the colonist rebels became enshrined in American law under our Constitution. In “Article I, section 2, clause 1 of the United States Constitution, [it] states, ‘The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several states, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.” (Congress.gov, No Taxation Without Representation Act). Is it just–or even Constitutional–to tax minors, who are not represented?
It is understandable why this issue has gone unaddressed: minors are not represented, politicians need not pander to 16-year-olds’ interests, and by the time minors can vote we are not minors, making unrepresented taxation no longer an issue. Even though I cannot represent myself through a vote, I can speak freely, which is why I have written this post. Taxing minors on earned income is an infraction of justice and is an unconstitutional law.