On Dec. 16, 1773, an import tax dispute with England set off one of the key sparks that ultimately led to the American Revolution. As we reflect on the significance of that event so long ago, there’s an opportunity to dive a little deeper into the topic of taxation and how it evolved in our country.
Had I paid a little more attention in high school, I might have understood that the nation whose founding principles included “no taxation without representation” was built on a federalist model that granted most day-to-day powers to the states, rather than the national government. Key among those powers was the ability to impose taxes at a local level.
