Lesson 4: Ttttaxes! 

Activity 4.2: What are taxes? What were taxes?

Just as people today are frustrated with modern tax laws, most English colonists felt the same way about their taxes.

What exactly are taxes? Well, depending upon how you look at them they are the money that people and companies pay to the government to keep the government running. Others view taxes as the money the government demands people or companies to pay so that the government can provide services such as roads, protection against outside forces, and the salaries of government officials. In this activity, you will learn about the very loose tax system of colonial times and how it affected the people who were expected to pay them.

Benchmark:

5.1.4.7.3: Identify taxes and fees collected, and services provided, by governments during colonial times; compare these to the taxes and fees collected, and services provided, by the government today.

Learning Target:

I can...explain how over time, taxes helped to change the relationship between the colonists and England.

Essential Question:

What types of taxes and fees were collected, and services provided, by governments during colonial times, and how do these taxes, fees, and services compare to those of our present government?

To complete Activity 4.2 please follow the steps below:

STEP 1: Read through the article on The Navigation Acts, the only serious taxes the colonists had to worry about until the 1760’s. Then respond to the questions below:

What was the purpose of the Navigation Acts?

How did most colonist react to the taxes the Navigation Acts created?

How did colonists react to the taxes created by the 1733 Molasses Act?

Until the 1760’s, did the colonists take paying taxes seriously? Explain your answer.

STEP 2: Americans pay many more taxes today because many Americans want more services from the federal government in Washington D.C. You will travel to the IRS website by clicking here on Your Role as a Taxpayer or on the links below. Complete the questions below the links.

Activity 1: Your Federal Government Check out the vast scope of the federal government.

Activity 2: Public Goods and Services Get a bird's eye view of a typical community to see how many government services can be found.

Activity 3: Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget Learn how the federal government gets and spends its money.

Respond to these questions about your experiences with the IRS website activities:

1. Where does the money come from that pays the people who run the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and the Department of the Treasury?

2. How many goods and services did the website list that are provided in local communities?

3. Federal income is another way of saying “taxes”. All the money the government makes comes from taxes. “Outlays” means spending. Who pays most of the taxes and where is most of that money spent?

Now, respond to the final questions. When complete submit ALL of your work in the ONLINE TEXT SUBMISSION BOX.

Based upon what you have learned, how are the taxes Americans pay today similar those paid by the colonists?

How are the taxes Americans pay today different than those paid by the colonists?