Abstract
In the United States, as in no other country, taxes have played a foundational role in the shape and tenor of our government. Often cited as a spark that ignited the American Revolution, Samuel Adams led the Boston Tea Party in response to Britain's Tea Act of 1773, which exempted the East India Company from a tax on tea without providing a similar exemption for colonial merchants. It was a coup for tax consistency. After the Revolution, the perception that citizens of some states bore more of the war's cost than the citizens of other states proved crucial to organization of the Constitutional Convention. The subsequent debate borne out in the Federalist Papers revealed a presupposition that the newly formed government would rule by fair consensus and not by fiat. Time and again, our history has been shaped by taxpayers' demands. The country is not now so removed from the tax upheavals of 1776 and 1789 that the Service should be permitted to act with inconsistency simply because it is an arm of the government.
Recommended Citation
Hoffer, Stephanie
(2006)
"Hobgoblin of Little Minds No More: Justice Requires an IRS Duty of Consistency,"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 2006:
No.
2, Article 2.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2006/iss2/2