The Payment of Provincial and Local Taxes in North Carolina, 1748-1771

SINCE taxation by Britain has long been recognized as important in understanding the American Revolution, it is perhaps surprising that a thorough study of the extent of taxation in each of the colonies has not attracted more attention from historians.' The assumption, for example, that the tax burden in the colonies was negligible, has led to the conclusion by some that Britain was justified in increasing taxes after the French and Indian War. Since taxes allegedly were insignificant economically, others have contended that imperial taxes were onerous simply as a symbol of political oppression: they represented Britain's neglect of traditional imperial relationships and disregard of American liberties. In North Carolina taxes nevertheless represented a real burden after i755, especially for those in the lower economic groups. They included dues to the Crown and taxes levied by Parliament, but the most important taxes were those assessed by the North Carolina legislature, the county courts, and the parish vestries.2 A shortage of currency, moreover, further increased this burden. Provincial taxes levied by the General Assembly were, as a rule, administered by provincial officials for colony-wide purposes. Sheriffs

Business · Geography · Payment · Regional science · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Finance

• Taxation and the Seven Years' War

  Jessica Kross•Canadian Review of American Studies•1987

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