Increasing Revenue

Who’s Making the Decisions? The King & Parliament Before the picture comes up, ask the students who would make the laws for the British government. After discussion, bring up the picture and ask how many people they see. Tell them all that along with the king, all of these people had some say in what laws were created. They were the British Parliament. A group of people that were elected by those who lived in Great Britain and were allowed to vote.

American Duties Act of 1764 (Sugar Act) Smugglers beware! High taxes on non- British imports. Taxes on British imported items such as clothing, molasses (sugar), and wine The American Duties Act was passed by Parliament in order to raise revenue and control the colonies. Because Parliament wanted the colonies to by British goods instead of goods from other places, they made strict laws against smuggling and made it easier for the customs officials (the police who stopped smuggling) to catch smugglers. Also, it put extremely high taxes on many items such as sugar, molasses (sugar) and wine that were imported from other countries. This would encourage the colonists to pay the less taxed, but still taxed, imported British goods.

The Stamp Act of 1765 Playing Cards Legal Documents Newspapers This was another tax law passed by Parliament in which all paper products had to have a stamp on them before they could be legally sold. This stamp cost money, all of which went directly to the British government. This was a very important tax because it marked the first time ever that an item that wasn’t being imported to the colonies from Great Britain was being taxed. This type of tax is an internal tax.