W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
Ah…. finally 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 already been boycotting English tea for 5 years before to the Boston Tea Party! They had instead smuggled in Dutch tea and were quite prosperous. 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 sellers to avoid the import tax of shipping the tea into England and then pass the savings along to the colonies when they sent the tea over and then sold British tea at a price that was lower than the smuggled Dutch tea. If you are 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 with the loyal British merchants located in the colonies. But will the colonists buy the cheaper British tea with an included tax? Yes. So much so that the result was loyal British merchants were getting all the business and a tax was still be paid to England. However, the colonists didn’t mind the tax very much; they ended up getting more inexpensive tea. BUT, the non-British MERCHANTS didn’t enjoy this gig. The British merchants, with the help from England, had essentially created a monopoly on tea sales. The native merchants feared it was only a matter of time before additional British enterprises would be created with an identical 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 collection of MERCHANTS dressed up as Indians, walked on a ship loaded with British tea and dumped it into the harbor. Was this a shining peak in American tax protest? Nope. The Boston Tea Party was viewed as the wanton destruction of private property at a period when private property was highly regarded. This event was extremely looked down upon and didn’t sit well with the colonies. Ben Franklin was abhorred and told the merchants that complete repayment would be given immediately to the owners of the tea. Anyway, it escalated into war.
However, the colonies would quickly realize that fleets of war vessels, battalions of redcoats, and cannons were a lot scarier than a few tax collectors. The funny thing is, America didn’t lose the war, primarily because England realized it was too expensive to wage war so far from home. BUT after the war, America faced astounding debts and taxes, and even with representation they were going to be huge.
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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