Taxing The States Out Of Existence - Brutus VI
Brutus VI is an Anti-Federalist Paper that goes into detail on why the Constitution’s taxing power will make the States obsolete.
Brutus VI
December 27, 1787
Brutus VI is an Anti-Federalist paper that focuses on the Constitution's ability to tax the people on their most commonly used products.
The author claimed that the burden of taxation from both the Federal and State Governments will be too much for the people to bear.
Furthermore, he believed this contradiction would lead to the dissolution of the States.
Eliminating States
Brutus spends the early section of Essay VI diving deeper into his opinion that the Federal Government will use the power of taxation to completely absorb the State Governments.
His main concern is that the States also have the power to tax and, therefore, the weight of double taxation on the people will make it impossible for them to pay.
Since the Federal Government can make any laws that are ‘necessary and proper’ to collect, they will prohibit the States from collecting at all.
Without the power to raise revenue, the States will be unable to govern and come to rely completely on the Federal Government, making the States obsolete.
Targeted Goods
Brutus goes on to point out that if the Federal Government wants to raise a lot of money, it will target items that are the most commonly used. This will, of course, cost everyday citizens the most money.
He claims that the things which receive the heaviest taxes, “will be either the real necessaries of life; or if not these, such as from custom and habit are esteemed so.”
He specifically points out cider, porter, ale and malt-liquors as targets for the new taxes (though not whiskey, as just a few short years later would lead to exactly the kind of issues Brutus was discussing).
No Escape
The author attempts to put a bit of fear into the hearts of readers by recounting, at length, how the Federal Government’s taxes will follow people in every corner of the United States into every corner of their lives.
Brutus then quotes the biblical phrase, “no main can serve two masters,” and firmly declares that, “the one power or the other must prevail, or else they will destroy each other.”
Finally, he responds to Federalist claims that the Constitution protects from abuses of taxation. Brutus notes that taxes can be raised for the ‘general welfare’ which is an extremely open ended term that, when spoken by the right charismatic person, can mean literally anything.
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