Are you for real Dale? Showing up some code lines actually explain something about this matter in your book? Do you even try to understand other people's posts, what they are trying to say and show?
I'm not trying to spice things up man, but I feel you are making a great effort with this patching and stuff, which is truly appreciated indeed, and can't take the time to follow straight other posters maybe.
The fact mentioned above about a single tax applied to any european transaction you make, even when you are buying weapons in Europe while in WoI, paying your "King's tax" (What? This looks like a true buggy situation), clearly establishes an ambiguity between your trade with Europe as a whole and trade with your King.
Nevertheless, what is irrelevant is how a programmer names his variables and what is it that he intended can't necessarily or magically be extracted from the code. As I also mentioned above, bribing costs are always proportional to the tax the trade is supposed to pay. So why would a programmer rename a variable he is perfectly comfortable with; the code is a black box for the gamer, he sees the game through it's interface alone.
The BUG was that this method of trading was not counted as trading, thus it would not show up on graphs, demographics, etc. This BUG is fixed by the addition of the following code (note there is NOTHING in it about modifying tax rates):
If it is indeed smuggling it shouldn't count as colonial trade. On the other hand, if it is "fixed" and the King rises up the tax more frequently when you sell this way, then my friend, tax rate is being modified.
All in all, I won't argue that this smuggling scenario was necessarily intended. But it is a nice and fair feature, not unbalanced nor overpowered. And if this had happened in the original Col we will now all be remembering such exquisite detail in grief, and wanting something of the sort to be back.