Taxes and the Founding Fathers

By Douglas V. Gibbs

In the U.S. Constitution we find that taxes are addressed a number of times. In Article I, Section 8, the Constitution gives Congress the power "to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States." Prior to 1913, and the 16th Amendment, Article I, Section 9, Clause 4 read "no Capitation, or other direct Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census of Enumeration herein before directed to be taken." In other words, the founders of this great nation did not intend for there to be a federal income tax, or an army of IRS agents inforcing it.

America's most famous tea party, The Boston Tea Party, occurred over a dispute regarding a one cent tax on tea. The move by the British Parliament was one of many unfair taxes levied against the colonists. The Tea Act of 1773 was applied against the American Colonies in the hopes of compelling the colonies to purchase tea directly from Britain's East India Company, rather than colonial importers who often smuggled tea in from Holland. Then, as now, taxation was not only used as a means of creating revenue, but also as a device to control the people, and to manipulate their behaviors.

The United States of America was forged into existence by the blood of patriots, and even our history books are willing to admit that one of the major factors leading to the colony's desire for independence was the fact that they were being heavily taxed without representation. America was consciously designed from scratch by the hands of men from the moment independence became an option in their minds. The founding documents were wrestled into existence through a process of argument and debate, shaped by a desire for a constitutional republic ruled by law that could stand the test of time, rather than succumb to men's lust for power, and the eventual downward spiral into a centralized government ruled by a despotic oligarchy.

The signers of the Declaration of Independence completed the text of that document with a pledge of their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor in support of the Declaration. The actions by the British Empire against the thirteen colonies had been such that despite their distinct differences in heritage, geography, commerce, and religion, the ragtag group of colonies, who desired to become sovereign states, unified with the intention of taking on the greatest military power of the day, the British Empire. Of the many reasons for such a union, none of them resonated like the anger the colonists felt regarding unfair taxation. The Crown, as far as the colonists were concerned, believed the colonies to be nothing more than a source of revenue.

The Sugar Act and the Currency Act were a couple of taxes that created anger among the colonists, but the Stamp Act of 1765 was especially egregious because it expected the colonists to pay directly from their own pockets to the British treasury.

When the United States became an independent nation, taxation was considered to be a state issue. Then, out of the revenue gained by the states, the federal government received a sum from each of the states in return for protection of the union by an armed force and navy. States did not receive federal funding for programs because the responsibilities for local projects belonged to the states. In fact, in regards to transportation public works projects, President James Madison vetoed a bill in 1817. Madison vetoed the bill because he could find no authority in the U.S. Constitution for Congress to fund transportation projects. The only Constitutional authority the federal government has regarding roadways is establishing post roads. The responsibility for the creation and maintenance of roadways belongs to the states.

Americans are taxed enough already. The taxation against the citizens of this great nation today are even more outrageous than they were by the hands of the British Empire prior to the Revolutionary War. The original intent of the Constitution was for the federal budget to be small, for there not to be a national debt, and for the people to be taxed only in moderation. When, in Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 the Constitution gives the authority to collect taxes, it was not intended to mean they could collect taxes in any way, shape or form they desired. And when the taxation against the people became too high, the founders believed it was up to the people to ensure the public servants of the federal government followed the law, or were removed from office by the populace.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary