History of Tax Resistance

History of Tax Resistance can be traced long back for it has existed since those in powerful position have imposed taxes on others. Tax Resistance means the refusal to pay tax due to opposition with the institution that is collecting tax or with some policy of the institution.

Tax Resistance History can be traced back to the 1st century A.D. when in Judaea, the Jewish Zealots resisted paying the poll tax that had been set up by the Roman empire. The Hutterites in the 16th century refused to pay taxes for they realized that the money they would pay as tax would be used for capital punishment and war. History of Tax Resistance also includes the imprisonment of John Hampden in 1627. He was imprisoned for he refused to pay to the Royal Navy the ship money and also for he opposed the loan that was authorized by Charles I without the sanction of the Parliament. The attempt to arrest Tax Resistors such as John Hampden led to the rise of the Civil English War.

Tax Resistance History includes the Algonquin refusal to pay tax to the Dutch colonialists for the improvement of the Amsterdam Fort in 1637. In the middle of the 18th century, John Woolman who was an American Quaker led many other Quakers to refuse tax payment for the money was to be used for the Indian and French War. History of Tax Resistance also includes the American colonists’ refusal to pay taxes to the British which led to the American Revolution. In 1829, the Charles X of France tried to set up his own taxes by bypassing the Parliament. But the French liberals set up the Breton Association and decided to go for Resistance Tax.

Tax Resistance History includes the Tax Resistance movement that was practiced and advocated by groups like the National Political Union and the National Union of the Working Classes during the 1820s and 1830s. The British Nonconformists began Resistance of Tax for that part of money that paid for the sectarian type of schools in 1903. In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi also took the help of Tax Resistance for India's independence campaign. He used various kinds of strategies for the Resistance of Tax that included attacking the taxed monopolies of the British on textiles and salt. He advocated the illegal manufacture of salt and also the production of home-based cloth. History of Tax Resistance also includes the Tax Resistance that has been adopted by some gay people in the United States as a form of protest against the government's refusal to give legal recognition to the marriages of same sex.

History of Tax Resistance can thus be traced back to almost the beginning of the civilization. Tax Resistance methods have been adopted by the people when ever they wanted to protest against any excess that the government had done and so it became a tool to check the government.

Last Updated on 14^th June 2011

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