taxation without representation is tyranny

A slogan of the Revolutionary War and the years before. The colonists were not allowed to choose representatives to parliament in London, which passed the laws under which they were taxed. To be taxed only with the consent of one’s representatives in Parliament was a particularly cherished right of the people under English law, a right dating back to Magna Carta in the thirteenth century. Each additional tax caused fresh resentment among the colonists. Taxation without representation is one of the principal offenses of Britain listed in the Declaration of Independence.