"While, as Benjamin Franklin quipped, it may be that nothing is certain but death and taxes, only the former can be considered the great equalizer. Death comes for us all, regardless of our social or economic status. Taxes, on the other hand, have always been far more complicated. Vanessa S. Williamson's new book, The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History, takes us on a fascinating journey through the history of taxation from colonization to the present day."
"Each of the book's three parts Taxation for a Republic, Taxation for Black Liberation, and Taxation for the General Welfare includes little-known stories that have nonetheless had a profound impact on how we function as a country today. Every single chapter exposed a startling fact that I'd never encountered before. And I say this as someone who reads a fair amount of U.S. history and who has developed a training module on the racialized history of taxation in this country. Consider, for example, the Boston Tea Party. Like many, I'd learned that colonists were fed up with being taxed while they had no representation in British Parliament. What I hadn't learned was that "the patriots who threw the tea into Boston Harbor were opposing not a tax hike, but a corporate tax cut.""
U.S. taxation history from colonization to the present reveals taxation as central to democratic governance and power distribution. Tax policy has shaped who gains economic advantage, who wields political influence, and which public goods are funded. Key themes include taxation's role in founding republican institutions, its connection to Black liberation and racialized economic control, and its contribution to the general welfare. Historical episodes often invert common assumptions about motives, such as protests aimed at preserving corporate privileges rather than opposing higher taxes. Clear narratives of surprising, sometimes horrifying events illustrate taxation's lasting societal effects.
Read at www.npr.org
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