The founders had no tax when they won independence ?
If you'd like, we can explore the history of the U.S. tax code, and various state tax codes here on this thread. I'm working on such a project for my state at the present time.
One factoid that I discovered was that my state only implemented an income tax during the mid-1960s. I started asking people, and most of them thought it had been around forever. Now, the state can't live without it.
I guess there must have waste and desolation before that...