W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
Ah…. now we have a historical event clearly concerning oppressive taxes. Was the Boston Tea Party a protest against the British taxation on tea, as we were told? No, not at all. The colonies had continuously been boycotting English tea for five years before to the Boston Tea Party! They had actually smuggled in Dutch tea and were doing quite well. There was tea for all and no British tea tax paid. Obviously, the British didn’t like this boycott. So, the British forgot the duties back home. The Parliament told British tea merchants to disregard the import tax of getting the tea to England and then pass the savings along to the colonies when they shipped the tea over and thereby sold British tea at a price lower than the Dutch smuggled tea. If you’re feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a CPA for Tax Preparation in Raleigh, NC for all your tax-related needs!
But what people would sell this British tea?
They sold it through loyal British merchants in the colonies. But will the colonists buy the cheaper British tea even though it included a tax? Yes. They bought so much that what ended up happening was loyal British merchants got all the business and the taxes were still being paid to England. However, the colonists did not mind the tax very much; they still were getting cheaper tea. BUT, the non-British MERCHANTS didn’t enjoy this gig. The British merchants, with the help from England, had basically created a monopoly on tea sales. The native merchants thought it was only a matter of time before more monopolies would be created with the same mechanism and they would be forced out of business. Go here if you want help with a modern-day Tax Return in Raleigh, NC.
So, a group of MERCHANTS who appeared to be Indians, walked on a ship loaded with British tea and dumped it into the water. Was this a crowning moment in American tax protest? No, it was not. The Boston Tea Party was viewed as the meaningless desecration of private property at a time when private property was highly regarded. The Boston Tea Party was extremely looked down upon and didn’t sit well with the colonists. Ben Franklin was abhorred and told the merchants that complete restitution would be paid at once to the owners of the tea. However, it escalated into war.
However, the colonies would quickly find that fleets of war vessels, legions of redcoats, and cannons were a lot scarier than a couple tax collectors. The ironic thing is, America won the war, primarily because England found it too expensive to fund war so far from England. BUT after the war, America had huge debts and taxes, and even with representation they were enormous.
Keep an eye out for W. Marc Gilfillan’s next chapter in his History of Taxes series: Taxes and Slavery and the Civil War.
http://www.marccpa.com/
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