A Lesson in Tax Law, Chapter 8: Taxation and The Boston Tea Party
December 21, 2009 by Taxcut Editor
Filed under Personal and Business Taxes
W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
Ah…. now we have an event in history obviously concerning abusive taxation. Was the Boston Tea Party a protest concerning the British taxation on tea, as we were all taught? No, not one bit. The colonies had already been boycotting English tea for 5 years prior to the Boston Tea Party! Instead, they smuggled in Dutch tea and were doing quite well. There was tea for all and no British tea tax paid. Naturally, the British did not like this boycott. So, the British forgot the duties at home. The Parliament allowed British tea merchants to avoid the import tax of shipping 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 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 take the cheaper British tea with an included tax? Yes. They bought so much that what ended up happening was loyal British merchants were getting all the business and the taxes were still being given to England. However, the colonists did not care about the tax that much; they ended up receiving more inexpensive tea. BUT, the non-British MERCHANTS didn’t enjoy this gig. The British merchants, gaining the assistance of England, had essentially established a monopoly on tea sales. The native merchants feared it would only be a matter of time before many 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 who appeared to be Indians, boarded a ship loaded with British tea and dumped it into the water. Was this a shining peak in American tax protest? Not at all. The Boston Tea Party was viewed as the senseless desecration of private property at a time when private property was highly regarded. The Boston Tea Party was extremely looked down upon and did not sit well with the colonists. Ben Franklin was shocked and demanded that full restitution would be paid immediately to the owners of the tea. However, it escalated into war.
However, the colonies would soon find that masses of warships, battalions of soldiers, and cannons were a lot scarier than a couple tax collectors. The funny thing is, America won the war, primarily because England realized it was too expensive to fund war so far from home. BUT after the war, America had astounding 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/
Related posts
The History of Tax Practices, Part Seven: Taxation and The American Revolution
December 18, 2009 by Taxcut Editor
Filed under Personal and Business Taxes
W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
No other revolution that was more solidly based in tax problems. Tax issues didn’t just cause it, but helped unify the disorganized and squabbling colonies. However, maybe not precisely the way you might imagine. 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!
First, the British taxes on the colonies were neither unfair nor oppressive. In fact, Americans had a good life: we had the help of the British empire, the land was fertile, businesses thrived, and there were jobs for everyone. Europe’s social castes did not limit the citizens and our sons were not forced to fight in wars in far-off places… we had it good. So why? Well, there were many missteps and misstatements by each side. Go here if you want help with a modern-day Tax Return in Raleigh, NC.
“Taxation without representation” was indeed a problem. The problem was, nobody quite knew the solution to this problem (following the American revolution, other colonies such as Canada and Australia were able to find adequately achievable solutions). However, at the time there was no agreement by the British parliament or American leaders on what should be done to avoid “taxation without representation”. Ben Franklin, probably without his own knowledge I presume, made the issue worse. He took a boat over to England as our liaison and told the British that internal taxes were unacceptable but external taxes were OK.
By internal taxes, Franklin meant the stamp tax and other taxes that were paid on transactions within the colonies themselves. External taxes, according to colonists’ definition, were taxes such as import taxes that were on transactions that only partially took place in the colonies. The colonists believed import taxes were external to the colonies. Yes, if you’re puzzled about this, you ought to be. It makes little sense. No one understood the connection with import/export taxes and the ultimate prices paid for the goods and services. In other words, import/export taxes worked against the “other guy” so they were OK.
OK, said the British parliament. if that’s what you desire we will help and give you whatever it takes to make you happy. So, the British enacted new tariffs, import and export taxes. Then, Americans decided they made a mistake. They saw the flaw of their reasoning… however, it was too late and the issue worsened.
Keep an eye out for W. Marc Gilfillan’s next chapter in his History of Taxes series: Taxes and the Boston Tea Party.
http://www.marccpa.com/
Related posts
A Lesson in Taxation, Chapter 8: Taxation and The Boston Tea Party
December 14, 2009 by Taxcut Editor
Filed under Personal and Business Taxes
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 taxation. Was the Boston Tea Party a protest concerning the British taxation on tea, as we were all taught? No, not one bit. The colonies had already been boycotting English tea for 5 years prior to the Boston Tea Party! Instead, they smuggled in Dutch tea and were quite prosperous. There was tea for everyone and no British tea tax paid. Naturally, the British didn’t like this boycott. So, the British forgot the duties back home. The Parliament told British tea sellers to disregard 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 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 with the loyal British merchants in the colonies. But would the colonists buy the cheaper British tea even though it included a tax? Yes. So much so that the result was loyal British merchants were getting all the business and the taxes were still being given to England. However, the colonists didn’t mind the tax that much; they still were getting cheaper tea. BUT, the non-British MERCHANTS did not enjoy this gig. The British merchants, gaining the help from England, had essentially established a monopoly on tea sales. The native merchants thought it was only a matter of time before more British enterprises would be established 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 dressed up as Indians, walked on a vessel containing British tea and dumped it into the harbor. Was this a shining peak in American tax protest? Not at all. The Boston Tea Party was viewed as the senseless desecration of private property at a time when private property was highly regarded. The Boston Tea Party was extremely looked down upon and did not sit well with the colonists. Ben Franklin was shocked and told the merchants that complete restitution would be paid immediately to the owners of the tea. Anyway, it escalated into war.
However, the colonies would quickly learn that fleets of warships, legions of soldiers, and cannons were a lot scarier than a couple tax collectors. The ironic thing is, America won the war, mostly because England realized it was too expensive to wage war so far from home. 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/
Related posts
A History of Taxation, Chapter Seven: Taxation and The Revolution
December 10, 2009 by Taxcut Editor
Filed under Personal and Business Taxes
W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
There has been no modern revolution that was more deeply based in taxation. Taxation didn’t just cause it, but assisted in providing unity for the unorganized and squabbling colonies. However, maybe not exactly the way you think. 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!
First, the British taxation on the colonies were neither not fair nor oppressing on the people. Actually, Americans had a good life: we had the help of the British empire, our land was rich, businesses thrived, and there were jobs for everyone. Europe’s social castes didn’t limit us and our sons were not conscripted to fight in wars in far-away lands… we had the good life. So what happened? Well, some missteps and misstatements by both sides. Go here if you want help with a modern-day Tax Return in Raleigh, NC.
“Taxation without representation” was indeed an issue. The problem was, nobody quite knew what to do about it (after the American revolution, many colonies such as Canada and Australia found adequately achievable solutions). But at the time there wasn’t agreement by the British parliament or American leaders on what should happen to dissolve “taxation without representation”. Ben Franklin, unknowingly I presume, complicated the issue. He took a boat over to England as our liaison and told the British that internal taxes were bad but external taxes were OK.
By internal taxes, he meant the stamp tax and other taxes that were paid on transactions within the colonies themselves. External taxes, according to colonists’ definition, were those like import taxes that were placed upon transactions that only in part occurred within the colonies. The colonists thought import taxes were external to the colonies. Yes, if you are puzzled about this, you ought to be. It makes little sense. Apparently no one understood the connection between import/export taxes and the ultimate prices paid for the products. In other words, import/export taxes worked against the “other guy” so they were OK.
OK, said the British parliament. if that’s what you desire we will play along and give you whatever it takes to make you happy. So, the British enacted new tariffs, import and export taxes. Then, Americans changed their mind. They saw the folly of their logic… however, it was too late and the situation got worse.
Keep an eye out for W. Marc Gilfillan’s next chapter in his History of Taxes series: Taxes and the Boston Tea Party.
http://www.marccpa.com/
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