“Before the income tax”

I agree with letter writer Donald Butts. Like him, I am also disappointed over a proposed stiff tax surcharge on more expensive homes. Americans fought a bloody war with England over a very small tea tax and paper documents, including newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards. After the Revolutionary War, the United States had no federal taxation for over 80 years.

Where did Washington, D.C. get its funding? Well, the U.S. government raised funds from land sales, land survey fees, Post Office services, and some hotly contested tariffs (indirect taxes). We fought three wars without any federal taxation—the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Mexican-American War. Now the government wants huge taxes on everybody and everything. I say that taxation is theft. Most of our forefathers felt the same way.

Lawrence Samuels, Carmel