Timeline of Revenue Acts

  • Sugar Act

    Sugar Act
    3 cent tax on sugar and molasses, Colonists were angry because it was a restriction, so they continued to smuggle in goods. The government made money and prevented colonists from buying from other countries.
  • Currency Act

    Currency Act
    This act regulated currency, prohibited the printing and issuance of paper money by Colonial legislatures. Colonists did not like the fact that they could not print their own money, but the government liked having control over all currency.
  • Stamp Act

    Stamp Act
    This act instilled a tax on every page of printed paper that colonists used. Colonists were enraged, and created mobs to get government attention. Ben Franklin tried to get the act appealed to no avail.
  • Townshend Act

    Created taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. Colonists were angry because they had to pay more taxes for British imported goods. The government kept taxing colonists and soon after the Boston Tea Party took place as an immediate result of the Townshend Act.
  • Tea Act

    Tea Act
    This act reduced the tax on British imported tea. Colonists started boycotting the British tea due to the unfair advantage over colonial merchants.