How Did The American Colonists Have Taxes

After the French and Indian War ended, the British started imposing taxes and passing acts on the colonist because they were in debt after the war. The American colonists could not do anything about this because up until the American Revolution, Great Britain controlled America.. America, being a new place where people thought they could be free, was in turmoil. There were secret meetings against the British; people were ready to stand against the taxes and the new laws being passed.. Some of these laws, called the Acts of Parliament, were the the Sugar Act, the Currency Act, Stamp Act, and the Quartering Act. Each of these acts added on to the conflict between the British and the Americans; it was only a matter of time before the pot boiled over. …show more content…
The original Sugar and Molasses act put a tax of six pence on a gallon of imported molasses, but they mostly evaded the tax by buying English molasses instead of importing it from the French West Indies. However, the new Sugar Act reduced this tax to three pence at an attempt to reduce smuggling. The British Prime Minister ordered the navy to enforce the tax which led to the almost immediate decline in rum. There were also many more restrictions as well as taxes put on other goods such as sugar, wines and coffee. This act was initiated in hopes to raise 100,000 pounds, which was roughly one-fifth of the North American military expenses. Between the years of 1766 and 1775, the British earned around 30,000 pounds per