Direct taxation on the American colonies by British Parliament was controversial. Due to the physical separation from the mother country, the colonies were virtually rather than directly represented in British Parliament. Members of Parliament argued that the colonies did not need direct representation. Rather, the colonies were represented in Parliament in the same fashion as other British subjects who did not have the right to vote because the members of Parliament represented the entire nation, not just their individual constituencies. Therefore, since Parliament legislated for all of their British subjects regardless of where they lived within the empire, direct representation was unnecessary for all of its constituents. Colonists believed their assemblies were equivalent to Parliament since they were represented there and paid colonial taxes. Paying a direct tax for a legislative body in which they had no representation, according to colonists, violated their natural rights.