Taxation in Colonial Americaexamines life in the thirteen original American colonies through the revealing lens of the taxes levied on and by the colonists. Spanning the turbulent years from the ...founding of the Jamestown settlement to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Alvin Rabushka provides the definitive history of taxation in the colonial era, and sets it against the backdrop of enormous economic, political, and social upheaval in the colonies and Europe.
Rabushka shows how the colonists strove to minimize, avoid, and evade British and local taxation, and how they used tax incentives to foster settlement. He describes the systems of public finance they created to reduce taxation, and reveals how they gained control over taxes through elected representatives in colonial legislatures. Rabushka takes a comprehensive look at the external taxes imposed on the colonists by Britain, the Netherlands, and Sweden, as well as internal direct taxes like poll and income taxes. He examines indirect taxes like duties and tonnage fees, as well as county and town taxes, church and education taxes, bounties, and other charges. He links the types and amounts of taxes with the means of payment--be it gold coins, agricultural commodities, wampum, or furs--and he compares tax systems and burdens among the colonies and with Britain.
This book brings the colonial period to life in all its rich complexity, and shows how colonial attitudes toward taxation offer a unique window into the causes of the revolution.
The Flat Tax Hall, Robert E; Rabushka, Alvin
2013, 2007-04-01, Letnik:
423
eBook
This new and updated edition of The Flat Tax—called "the bible of the flat tax movement" by Forbes—explains what's wrong with our present tax system and offers a practical alternative. Hall and ...Rabushka set forth what many believe is the most fair, efficient, simple, and workable tax reform plan on the table: tax all income, once only, at a uniform rate of 19 percent.
The middle colonies continued their population growth. Between 1763 and 1775, New York expanded from 130,000 to surpass 186,000, a rise of 43 percent in the short span of twelve years. Pennsylvania’s ...population increased by 41 percent, from just over 200,000 to 283,000. Delaware and New Jersey grew at much slower rates, the former from 34,000 to 40,000, an increase of about 18 percent, and New Jersey from 100,000 to 128,000, an increase of 28 percent. The trade of all three was funneled through Philadelphia, making it the preeminent economic city in the middle colonies.
Parliament passed the Currency Act
By 1688 the basic structure of New England taxation was largely in place. The principal sources of provincial revenue were the poll and property taxes, collected in fractions or multiples of the ...country rate, with small fractions assessed for counties, towns, and churches. These were augmented with retail excises and duty on alcoholic beverages, merchandise, and provisions, tonnage, and labor contributions. Normal peacetime taxes ranged between one and two rates, resulting in very low tax burdens.
Payment was typically in commodities fixed at legislated rates, with discounts up to a third or more for coin. An important development occurred in
THE FIRST WAVE Rabushka, Alvin
Taxation in Colonial America,
12/2010
Book Chapter
Beginning in the fifteenth century, dreams of gold, silver, spices, and other trading opportunities prompted European adventurers to explore and claim vast tracts of land in Africa, Asia, and the ...Americas for their sovereigns and hefty rewards for themselves. The Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch, Swedes, Danes, and English engaged in the world’s greatest land rush. The Portuguese and Spanish divided up most of Latin America.¹ The French seized portions of Canada and several Caribbean islands. The Swedes and Danes occupied parts of Delaware and several Caribbean islands. Dutchmen briefly ruled New York and settled two groups of Caribbean islands. The
Imperial Governance Rabushka, Alvin
Taxation in Colonial America,
12/2010
Book Chapter
The glorious Revolution did not alter the ideas that underpinned England’s imperial system. The core beliefs of mercantilism—a favorable balance of trade, accumulation of specie, monopolizing markets ...in the colonies for English exports, expansion of shipbuilding, and access to naval stores and other commodities England did not produce—remained the accepted doctrine of English commercial policy. But there were flaws in the trade acts and gaps in the structure of their enforcement. To remedy these problems, Parliament moved to strengthen England’s commercial empire and ensure the collection of duty. These tasks grew in importance with the rising expense of
The opportunity to acquire land in Pennsylvania and New York resulted in a faster rise in population of those colonies compared with New England’s more densely populated limited land area. During ...1739–63 the inhabitants of the middle colonies, including New Jersey and Delaware, increased 118.7 percent, from 213,189 to 466,304. Pennsylvania led the way, reaching 200,000. Philadelphia became the leading center of commerce and finance in the colonies, growing from 13,000 in 1743 to 23,750 in 1760, becoming the third largest commercial city in the British Empire surpassed only by London and Bristol, with New York City expanding from
The population of the southern plantation colonies more than doubled from 387,177 in 1739 to 799,591 in 1763. The Negro population increased from a third to just over 40 percent, signifying the ...central role of the plantation economy in the production of tobacco, indigo, rice, naval stores, and other primary products for export.
The southern colonies were active in the War of Jenkins’ Ear but only somewhat in King George’s War, with New England and New York bearing the brunt of the expeditions to Canada. When the French and Indian War broke out in 1754, Virginia was at the forefront
THE MIDDLE WAVE Rabushka, Alvin
Taxation in Colonial America,
12/2010
Book Chapter
During the middle third of the seventeenth century, the seeds of five new American colonies took root. All were proprietary ventures. One began as migrants from Virginia sought new land in what ...became North Carolina. The founding of these colonies rested on charters granted by the English Crown and, in the case of Delaware, the Swedish Crown.
On june 10, 1632, King Charles I granted the Charter of Maryland to Cecilius Calvert, Baron of Baltimore and son of George Calvert, the first Baron of Baltimore, “that he may transport, by his own industry and expense, a numerous colony of the
A quarter century of peace and salutary neglect came to an end on October 23, 1739, when Prime Minister Robert Walpole declared war on Spain. Twenty-four years later, decades of war with France were ...temporarily suspended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763. War preoccupied the last two decades of the reign of King George II (1727–60) and the first three years of George III (1760–1820). During this period, British monarchs lost what remaining power they had enjoyed—that of picking their ministers—to Whig personalities who could command a majority in the
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