Taxation: “Virtual and Direct” definition?
For an AP US History study guide, I need to define "Taxation: 'Virtual and Direct.'" Could some of you give me a good hearty definition (5 sentences would be great)? The time in history would be mid-1700s when the British government was imposing different taxes and acts over the colonies, like the Stamp Act of 1765.
I know what virtual representation and direct representation is, but not taxation.
Oh, and it's not on wiki from what I see, but for another use of "virtual and direct," wiki has an article on "Virtual Representation."
Thanks.
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I've never heard these terms either, except that when the US Constitution was written, it had a ban on "direct taxation and there was later a lot of dispute over what that meant. Try reading up on the 16th Amendment to learn a little more about the idea.
I'd say a direct tax is one like a sales or income tax that a citizen pays themself. A virtual tax is one that you pay indirectly--like a custom duty. The importer pays it and then recovers it by charging more for the goods.
From what I remember, the colonists weren't objecting to the British government assessing import duties, etc that colonists eventually wound up paying for, but the Stamp Act was a tax that they paid directly to the government.