Taxes and Consent of the Governed
Letters From a Pennsylvania Farmer #4: Are External Taxes Legal?
Dec 13, 2007
This idea of different types of taxes had tremendous implications as to the legality of taxation by the British Parliament. Even in that day, even astute judges of public sentiment such as Benjamin Franklin, as evidenced by his initial acceptance of the Stamp Act, did not understand the true extent of the resistance to taxation which would come to be considered a major cause of the American Revolution.
Parliament certainly was misguided as they kept holding to the notion that Americans did not mind being taxed externally. Of course, this was not tempered at all by the fact that the majority of that legislative body felt that they had a right to impose any kind of tax they desired. In this letter, Dickinson explains clearly what the differences are and then emphatically declares that either kind is unacceptable, without consent, under the English Constitution!
Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies - Letter #4
Issue: Is there a difference between external and internal taxes? Is it OK to be taxed externally, as the Townshend Acts purport to do, without consent?
Dickinson:
There are those who are saying that the big difference between the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts is that the Stamp Act was an internal tax while the Townshend Duties are external taxes. They are trying to make the case that while parliament does not have a right to collect internal taxes, they do have the right to collect external taxes without our consent.
Problem: The true definition of what a tax is, according to the Constitution and common law, must be understood if to have any chance to preserve true liberty
Dickinson:
It is important to understand the relationship between the principles of taxation with regard to the English Constitution and the intention for which taxes are being collected. If we can understand this issue we can confidently defend the concept and be sure that we stay on the right side of the law. If we think we can protect the liberty we enjoy in these colonies in any other way, we are setting the foundation for our liberty in a cloud.
Solution: Parliament does not have the right to impose any tax on the colonies without their consent
Dickinson:
In no uncertain terms I can honestly deny with conviction that parliament has any right to collect any tax whatsoever from these colonies without their consent. This importance of this principle cannot be understated for now or any generation that comes after us. "I wish to be clearly understood. To the word “tax,” I annex that meaning which the constitution and history of England require to be annexed to it; that is—that it is an imposition on the subject, for the sole purpose of levying money.”
The Farmers Conclusion:
“Here is no distinction made between internal and external taxes. … All taxes are founded on the same principle; and have the same tendency. "
us quidem senatus consultum, tanquam gladium in vagina repositum
(We have a statute, laid up for future use, like a sword in the scabbard)
Click here to read about The Pennsylvania Farmer's 3rd Letter
Click here to read about The Pennsylvania Farmer's 5th Letter
Source
Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies by John Dickinson, Esq.
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