{"id":112,"date":"2024-07-11T15:50:53","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T15:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/?p=112"},"modified":"2024-07-11T15:50:54","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T15:50:54","slug":"could-it-happen-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/could-it-happen-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Could It Happen Here?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"429\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Could-It-Happen-Here.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-113\" style=\"width:414px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Could-It-Happen-Here.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Could-It-Happen-Here-300x215.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>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\u2014a group of Boston patriots disguised as Native Americans\u2014 redefined the term \u201ctea party\u201d to mean \u201cthrowing chests of tea into the Boston Harbor rather than pay the hated Townshend Act duties.\u201d (Days later, the&nbsp;<em>Philadelphia<\/em>&nbsp;Tea Party refused to let a different ship land to offload&nbsp;<em>her<\/em>&nbsp;tea. Admittedly, the Philadelphia gathering didn\u2019t make the same literal splash as the soiree in Boston, which is why you probably don\u2019t remember it.) And, of course, the Declaration of Independence that sparked last week\u2019s holiday indicts King George III for, among other things, \u201cimposing Taxes on us without our Consent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe, though, we shouldn\u2019t take the tranquility of that process for granted. Imagine if it looked like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>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\u2019s 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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tens of thousands of protestors mobilize on social media platforms including Instagram and TikTok. They demand the president\u2019s 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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Armed CIA agents wearing balaclavas and driving unmarked vehicles kidnap dozens of activists and social media influencers. In one case, after storming a columnist\u2019s home at 2 AM, they tell him if he won\u2019t use his thumb to unlock apps on his phone for them, they\u2019ll cut it off entirely.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That sounds like a scene out of this year\u2019s dystopian hit movie,&nbsp;<em>Civil War<\/em>. But it was reality last month in Kenya, one of Africa\u2019s most-developed economies and a country that President Biden just designated a \u201cmajor non-NATO ally\u201d\u2014the first in sub-Saharan Africa. Protests have calmed down since then. William Ruto, Kenya\u2019s fifth president in less than two years, has ordered an audit of his country\u2019s 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, \u201cIs kidnapping now an official state policy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s the bottom line as we move towards the reality of next year\u2019s tax battle. Change is coming, whether we like it or not. Fortunately, we\u2019re here to help you navigate it. And we won\u2019t stop at just telling you how much you\u2019ll owe under those new rules\u2014we\u2019ll study them to understand how to help you pay less without dumping crates of tea in the nearest harbor!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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\u2014a group of Boston patriots disguised as Native Americans\u2014 redefined the term \u201ctea party\u201d to mean \u201cthrowing chests of tea into the Boston Harbor rather than pay the hated Townshend Act duties.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4,10,11,9,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-112","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-taxes","8":"tag-tax","9":"tag-tax-reduction","10":"tag-tax-savings","11":"tag-tax-strategy","12":"tag-taxes","13":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114,"href":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions\/114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bourbonnaistax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}