Key Points
- The Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 and Henry David Thoreau’s 1846 tax protest exemplify American resistance to taxation.
- Grover Norquist’s 1986 Taxpayer Protection Pledge has been signed by nearly 1,400 elected officials.
- The debate over taxation continues, with some advocating for tax increases on the wealthy and others for further reductions.
The tension is obvious—an expensive government that needs to be financed versus a populace that works hard for its money and questions the value of sending it off to Washington or the state capital.
The Libertarian Party helped codify the modern antitax stance in its 1972 platform.
“[W]e are opposed to all government activity which consists of the forcible collection of money or goods from citizens in violation of their individual rights,” it reads. “Specifically, we support the eventual repeal of all taxation.”
The end of all taxation is hard for anyone to imagine. But, with taxpayers busy with the hated chore of filing their annual returns, it’s a good time to take a look back at the testy relationship between Americans and taxes.