[spacecowboynj]

"Oh, and it was a tax not a tariff. Tariffs are on imports, Washington's government was taxing domestically produced whiskey."

OMG I about fell out of my chair when I read this. A tariff IS a tax...HELLO!!!??? The US had no income tax in those days and their method of revenue was a tax on gods called a TARIFF. I don't know if you're aware of this, but there are several kinds of taxes. Sales, corporate, income, yada yada.

O brother fine, here you go:

A tariff is a tax on foreign goods. When a ship arrives in port a customs officer inspects the contents and charges a tax according to the tariff formula. Since the goods cannot be landed until the tax is paid it is the easiest tax to collect, and the cost of collection is small. Smugglers of course seek to evade the tariff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff

[Non-Sequitur]

A tariff is a tax on foreign goods.

What part of that is so hard for you to comprehend? A tax on imported foreign goods, not on domestically produced goods.

However let me hasten to add that I wasn't trying to be hard on you, just accurate. Confusing tariff with an excise tax is among the least of the errors you've been posting.