Then why would the Founders be so redundant? It stands to reason that the three terms are regarding three different types of debt. Jefferson and friends didn’t write “life, existence, and the pursuit of not being dead” for a reason.
We’re not talking about the immortal prose style of the glorious Founders here; we are talking about the work of the anonymous draughtsman of Section 31 U.S.C. 5103.
But, leaving that aside, the fact that the meaning of “charges” in this context is coloured by its use in a list with “taxes” and “dues” doesn’t mean that it’s redundant. There could well be a “charge” which is neither a “tax” nor a “due” but which shares some of their salient characteristics. You’d need to look in some detail at how these words have been employed by legislators and interpreted by judges to see whether there’s any mileage in that idea, and it’s beyond my expertise or interest to do so; my specialism is wild guesses, which require much less time and effort.
But consider the following: suppose a county installs a new water main, and finances it with a 10-year bond issue, and imposes a 10-year recurring charge on the owners of properties served by the new water main, set at a level which is calculated to finance the repayment of the bond. It’s conceivable that the charge is not a “tax” - there’s already a general property tax, and the owners pay that as well, plus property taxes are not normally so explicitly linked to improvements to property values created by public expenditure. But it could still be a “public charge” for the purposes of the legal tender legislation.
That’s because they’re called assessments. You will find very often on property tax bills these assessments, to pay for sewers, schools, etc
It’s certainly still true in the UK: cite.
Copper coins (1p and 2p) are only legal tender up to 20p, for example, so if you get dragged into court for non-payment of taxes, you can’t wheel in a barrowfull of pennies and get out of it.
But, of course, shops are perfectly able to accept more than 20p in pennies - or refuse 5p in pennies if they choose to, because they’re not obliged to sell anything to you.
I would think taxes, fines, etc. in order to prevent a reoccurence of the way Arlington was seized from the Lees.