The Fourth of July holiday reminds many of us that these United States were forged with the flame of tax protest. On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty—a group of Boston patriots disguised as Native Americans— redefined the term “tea party” to mean “throwing chests of tea into the Boston Harbor rather than pay the hated Townshend Act duties.” (Days later, the Philadelphia Tea Party refused to let a different ship land to offload her tea. Admittedly, the Philadelphia gathering didn’t make the same literal splash as the soiree in Boston, which is why you probably don’t remember it.) And, of course, the Declaration of Independence that sparked last week’s holiday indicts King George III for, among other things, “imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.”
Today, we give or refuse consent for taxes every time we go to the ballot box. Taxes are just one of many policy issues we decide peacefully, without resorting to the fireworks that characterized the Tea Party. Next year, Washington will struggle to extend or not extend the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that expire on December 31. They’ll do it with endless drafts of dense legislation, leaked trial balloons, and last-minute amendments scrawled on the backs of cocktail napkins from Capitol Hill watering holes like Bullfeathers or The Dubliner. It will be painful. But at least it should be peaceful.
Maybe, though, we shouldn’t take the tranquility of that process for granted. Imagine if it looked like this:
- The president introduces a bill raising taxes to pay off debt and fund development projects. Specifically, it imposes a 16% sales tax on bread, sugar, and imported eggs, onions, and potatoes. There’s a 2.5% annual tax on the value of all motor vehicles, a 25% tax on vegetable oil, and higher taxes on financial services and foreign exchange transactions. And there are higher taxes on gas, cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages.
- Tens of thousands of protestors mobilize on social media platforms including Instagram and TikTok. They demand the president’s resignation, flood D.C. streets, break into the Capitol building, and set fire to the entrance to protest as Congress passes the new taxes inside.
- Armed CIA agents wearing balaclavas and driving unmarked vehicles kidnap dozens of activists and social media influencers. In one case, after storming a columnist’s home at 2 AM, they tell him if he won’t use his thumb to unlock apps on his phone for them, they’ll cut it off entirely.
- Police fire tear gas and guns at protestors, killing at least 39 people and injuring hundreds more, before the president backs down and withdraws the bill.
That sounds like a scene out of this year’s dystopian hit movie, Civil War. But it was reality last month in Kenya, one of Africa’s most-developed economies and a country that President Biden just designated a “major non-NATO ally”—the first in sub-Saharan Africa. Protests have calmed down since then. William Ruto, Kenya’s fifth president in less than two years, has ordered an audit of his country’s debt, staff reductions, and retirement for workers aged 60 or older. But protestors still report a climate of fear. Many have changed phone numbers or gone into hiding to avoid future harassment as they ask themselves, “Is kidnapping now an official state policy?”
Here’s the bottom line as we move towards the reality of next year’s tax battle. Change is coming, whether we like it or not. Fortunately, we’re here to help you navigate it. And we won’t stop at just telling you how much you’ll owe under those new rules—we’ll study them to understand how to help you pay less without dumping crates of tea in the nearest harbor!