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Executive Order 11464 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 11464—Modifying Rates of Interest Equalization Tax

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Thursday, April 3, 1969
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3 min read (635 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (635 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Of Executive Order No. 11368, dated August 28, 1967, is hereby amended to read as follows: "SECTION 1.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Foreign Nations & International Entities Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Richard Nixon on April 3, 1969, this order concerns Modifying Rates of Interest Equalization Tax. Of Executive Order No. 11368, dated August 28, 1967, is hereby amended to read as follows: "SECTION 1. Rates of Tax. "(a) Rates applicable to acquisitions of stock. The tax imposed by section 4911 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 on the acquisition of stock shall be equal to 11.25 percent of the actual value of the stock. "(b) Rates applicable to acquisitions of debt obligations.

Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Of Executive Order No. 11368, dated August 28, 1967, is hereby amended to read as follows: "SECTION 1.

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The tax imposed by section 4911 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 on the acquisition of stock shall be equal to 11.25 percent of the actual value of the stock.

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With respect to acquisitions of stock of foreign issuers and debt obligations of foreign obligors made under the rules of a national securities exchange registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or under the rules of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., this order shall be effective for acquisitions made after April 4, 1969, but only if the trade-date was after April 4, 1969.

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In the case of other acquisitions of stock of foreign issuers and debt obligations of foreign obligors, this order shall be effective for acquisitions made after April 4, 1969.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Policy Areas & Topics

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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
31 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
635
3,445 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
7.9
Grade 8
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

WHEREAS, I have determined that the rates of tax prescribed under section 1 of Executive Order No. 11368, dated August 28, 1967, with respect to acquisitions of stocks of foreign issuers and debt obligations of foreign obligors made after August 29, 1967, are higher than the rates of tax necessary to limit the acquisitions by United States persons of stocks of foreign issuers and debt obligations of foreign obligors within a range consistent with the balance-of-payments objectives of the United States; Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 4911(b) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Section 1 of Executive Order No. 11368, dated August 28, 1967, is hereby amended to read as follows: "SECTION 1. Rates of Tax. "(a) Rates applicable to acquisitions of stock. The tax imposed by section 4911 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 on the acquisition of stock shall be equal to 11.25 percent of the actual value of the stock. "(b) Rates applicable to acquisitions of debt obligations. The tax imposed by section 4911 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 on the acquisition of a debt obligation shall be equal to a percentage of the actual value of the debt obligation measured by the period remaining to its maturity and determined in accordance with the following table: The tax, as a percentage of If the period remaining to maturity is: actual value, is: At least 1 year, but less than 1 1/4 years 0.79 percent At least 1 1/4 years, but less than 1 1/2 years 0.98 percent At least 1 1/2 years, but less than 1 3/4 years 1.13 percent At least 1 3/4 years, but less than 2 1/4 years 1.39 percent At least 2 1/4 years, but less than 2 3/4 years 1.73 percent At least 2 3/4 years, but less than 3 1/2 years 2.06 percent At least 3 1/4 years, but less than 4 1/2 years 2.66 percent At least 4 1/2 years, but less than 5 1/2 years 3.26 percent At least 5 1/2 years, but less than 6 1/2 years 3.83 percent At least 6 1/2 years, but less than 7 1/2 years 4.35 percent At least 7 1/2 years, but less than 8 1/2 years 4.88 percent At least 8 1/2 years, but less than 9 1/2 years 5.33 percent At least 9 1/2 years, but less than 10 1/2 years 5.78 percent At least 10 1/4 years, but less than 11 1/2 years 6.23 percent At least 11 1/2 years, but less than 13 1/2 years 6.83 percent At least 13 1/2 years, but less than 16 1/2 years 7.73 percent At least 16 1/2 years, but less than 18 1/2 years 8.51 percent At least 18 1/2 years, but less than 21 1/2 years 9.19 percent At least 21 1/2 years, but less than 23 1/2 years 9.79 percent At least 23 1/2 years, but less than 26 1/2 years 10.31 percent At least 26 1/2 years, but less than 28 1/2 years 10.76 percent 28 1/2 years or more 11.25 percent SEC. 2. With respect to acquisitions of stock of foreign issuers and debt obligations of foreign obligors made under the rules of a national securities exchange registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or under the rules of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., this order shall be effective for acquisitions made after April 4, 1969, but only if the trade-date was after April 4, 1969. In the case of other acquisitions of stock of foreign issuers and debt obligations of foreign obligors, this order shall be effective for acquisitions made after April 4, 1969. RICHARD NIXON The White House April 3, 1969

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11,464 (Apr. 3, 1969), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11464-modifying-rates-interest-equalization-tax.