W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
Ah…. finally a historical event clearly about abusive taxes. Was the Boston Tea Party a protest against the British tax on tea, as we were told? No, not at all. The colonies had continuously been boycotting English tea for 5 years prior to the Boston Tea Party! They had actually smuggled in Dutch tea and were quite prosperous. There was tea for anyone who wanted it and no British tea tax paid. Obviously, the British did not like the boycott. So, the British bypassed the duties at home. The Parliament told British tea sellers to disregard the import tax of getting the tea to England and then transfer the money saved 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 who would sell this British tea?
They sold it through loyal British merchants located in the colonies. But will the colonists buy the cheaper British tea even though it had a tax? Yes. So much so that what ended up happening was loyal British merchants got all the business and a tax was still be paid to England. However, the colonists didn’t care about the tax very much; they ended up receiving cheaper 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 colonial merchants feared it was only a matter of time before more 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 Natives, boarded a boat containing British tea and tossed 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 viewed as very important. 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 at once to the owners of the tea. However, it turned into war.
However, the colonists would soon learn that fleets of warships, battalions of redcoats, and cannons were a lot scarier than a couple tax collectors. The funny part is, America won the war, primarily due to the fact that England realized it was too expensive to wage war so far from home. BUT after the war, America faced huge 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/