Taxes are a necessary means to a wonderful end if used in the right way. We need taxes to support our local and federal government. When used properly we are safer from harm and danger both foreign and domestic causes. When Jesus was confronted regarding taxes he neither praised nor condemned them. He merely said in Mathew 22:21 ……..Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. There have been a collection of taxes from early Ancient times in Egypt. The pharaohs collected a tax on cooking oil.
The Greeks are one of the few who collected taxes for the war effort and when the war ended they took resources gained from the war , ended the tax and actually gave a refund on the tax collected. It can be done!
The United States had few taxes in its infancy. Section 8.1 of Article 1 in the constitution gives congress the right from the people to “lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare”. The constitution was not ratified until 1791. From 1791 to 1802, the government was supported by internal taxes on distilled spirits, carriages, refined sugar, tobacco and snuff, property sold at auction, corporate bonds, and slaves. The War of 1812 required more taxes, however in 1817 Congress did away with all internal taxes, relying on tariffs on imported good to provide funds for running the government.
Fast forward to the Civil War. In 1862, in order to support the war effort, Congress put in place the first income tax law. Other taxes were also imposed and by 1866 more $310 million dollars was collected. This amount would not be reached again until 1911. The “Act of 1862” established the “Office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue”.
One of the egregious unintended consequences of war throughout the history of civilization is the need for taxation or providing the resources to conduct the war. Even at war’s end the toxic use of power and influence that taxation brings never diminishes but infests until it puts the citizenry in such bondage they are unable to escape their grasp. The initial reaction may be to have the government provide goods and services to us because the individual costs spread over a wide population may seem relatively small. We rationalize that it is for the greater good of the masses. We think this is true in education, roads, utilities, interstate commerce, etc. What we find is that the government is inept to provide almost any service including education as well as the private sector.
We should be aware that whenever we give over to congress the power to provide we also give them the power to regulate and to tax. This power to regulate will almost always then extend further than original intent of the Constitution. The more government provides the more dependant we feel upon the government. We hear rhetoric from politicians who say it’s a “right” to have health care, it ‘s a “right” to have a college education or it’s a “right” to be paid a certain minimum wage. These are all false premises proposed by those who would grasp more power if given the chance. Taxation beyond the intent and scope of the constitution is only “Legal Plunder”.
It would be better for us to stand against more federal regulation, more federal taxes, and bigger federal government when we have a choice. Even when that being proposed is being sold as a solution for the “greater good” we must be wary of the unintended consequences which may come as an unaware result.
The Greeks are one of the few who collected taxes for the war effort and when the war ended they took resources gained from the war , ended the tax and actually gave a refund on the tax collected. It can be done!
The United States had few taxes in its infancy. Section 8.1 of Article 1 in the constitution gives congress the right from the people to “lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare”. The constitution was not ratified until 1791. From 1791 to 1802, the government was supported by internal taxes on distilled spirits, carriages, refined sugar, tobacco and snuff, property sold at auction, corporate bonds, and slaves. The War of 1812 required more taxes, however in 1817 Congress did away with all internal taxes, relying on tariffs on imported good to provide funds for running the government.
Fast forward to the Civil War. In 1862, in order to support the war effort, Congress put in place the first income tax law. Other taxes were also imposed and by 1866 more $310 million dollars was collected. This amount would not be reached again until 1911. The “Act of 1862” established the “Office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue”.
One of the egregious unintended consequences of war throughout the history of civilization is the need for taxation or providing the resources to conduct the war. Even at war’s end the toxic use of power and influence that taxation brings never diminishes but infests until it puts the citizenry in such bondage they are unable to escape their grasp. The initial reaction may be to have the government provide goods and services to us because the individual costs spread over a wide population may seem relatively small. We rationalize that it is for the greater good of the masses. We think this is true in education, roads, utilities, interstate commerce, etc. What we find is that the government is inept to provide almost any service including education as well as the private sector.
We should be aware that whenever we give over to congress the power to provide we also give them the power to regulate and to tax. This power to regulate will almost always then extend further than original intent of the Constitution. The more government provides the more dependant we feel upon the government. We hear rhetoric from politicians who say it’s a “right” to have health care, it ‘s a “right” to have a college education or it’s a “right” to be paid a certain minimum wage. These are all false premises proposed by those who would grasp more power if given the chance. Taxation beyond the intent and scope of the constitution is only “Legal Plunder”.
It would be better for us to stand against more federal regulation, more federal taxes, and bigger federal government when we have a choice. Even when that being proposed is being sold as a solution for the “greater good” we must be wary of the unintended consequences which may come as an unaware result.
