Stop CHEATERS Act

Enumerated powers · passes

Congress has explicit constitutional authority under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 to 'lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.' This bill appropriates funds to the IRS for tax enforcement and requires reporting on tax compliance—directly within that enumerated power. The bill does not regulate beyond the tax power.

Bill of Rights · passes

The bill does not restrict speech, religion, assembly, press, petition (First Amendment), bear arms (Second), quarter soldiers (Third), or impose unreasonable searches (Fourth). It does not compel self-incrimination (Fifth) because it only requires the IRS to report on its own enforcement plans and tax gap analysis—not to compel taxpayer testimony. It does not violate the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, or Tenth Amendments. The reporting requirements are administrative and do not infringe any enumerated right.

Individual liberty · passes

The bill does not restrict what individuals or corporations may do with their person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It merely directs the IRS to focus enforcement resources on high-income individuals and large corporations and to report on tax compliance. Taxpayers retain all existing rights to challenge audits and assessments through established procedures. The burden of justification is met because the government has a compelling interest in collecting lawfully owed taxes, and the bill imposes no new restrictions on individual freedom.

Decentralization · passes

The bill passes all four questions: (1) Individuals and families cannot enforce federal tax law on their own—this requires a federal agency. (2) Local communities cannot enforce federal tax law without state or federal involvement. (3) States cannot enforce federal tax law without federal involvement because the Constitution vests tax collection power in Congress. (4) The bill does not consolidate decision-making upward beyond the minimum necessary—federal tax enforcement is inherently federal. The Tenth Amendment is not violated because the bill operates within an enumerated federal power.

Due process and takings · passes

The bill does not bypass due process or take property without just compensation. It does not authorize any new seizure, penalty, or enforcement action without existing procedural safeguards. The reporting requirements are informational and do not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property. The Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause and Takings Clause are not implicated.