Ways To Get Out Of Debt

A History of Tax Practices, Chapter Eight: Taxation and The Boston Tea Party

January 4th, 2010

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 about abusive 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 5 years before to the Boston Tea Party! They had instead smuggled in Dutch tea and were doing quite well. There was tea for all 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 getting the tea to England and then pass the money saved 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 through loyal British merchants in the colonies. But would the colonists take 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 the taxes were still being given to England. However, the colonists didn’t mind the tax very much; they ended up receiving more inexpensive tea. However, 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 colony merchants thought it was only a matter of time before many 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 Natives, walked on a boat containing British tea and tossed it into the water. Was this a shining moment in American tax protest? Not at all. The Boston Tea Party was viewed as the senseless destruction of private property at a time when private property was highly regarded. The event was very grave and didn’t sit well with the colonists. Ben Franklin was shocked and told the merchants that complete repayment would be given immediately to the owners of the tea. Anyway, it turned into war.

However, the colonists would soon realize that fleets of war vessels, legions of redcoats, and cannons were a lot more terrifying than a few tax collectors. The funny thing is, America won the war, mostly due to the fact that 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/