第10章 美国的由来(4)

After months of protest and economic turmoil[42]， and an appeal[43] by Benjamin Franklin in the British House of Commons， Parliament voted to repeal the Stamp Act in March 1766. However， at the same day， Parliament passed the Declaratory Acts， asserting[44] that the British government had free and total legislative power over the colonies. At the same time， Parliament passed the Revenue[45] Act of 1766，which was intended to make up Britain's loss of income from the stamp tax with taxes on molasses[46].The colonists paid this tax without complaint， although it also was imposed without their consent， as molasses was a critical ingredient[47] in the making of rum[48].

Not ready to put down the rioters with military force， so Parliament eventually repealed the legislation. But the end of the Stamp Act did not end Parliament's conviction[49] that it had the authority to impose taxes on the colonists.However， the colonists held firm to their view that Parliament could not tax them.The fracas over the Stamp Act helped plant seeds for the eventual battle for independence.Later， Parliament would again attempt to force unpopular taxation measures on the American colonies in the late 1760s， leading to a steady[50] deterioration[51] in British-American relations that culminated in the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775.In other words， the issues raised by the Stamp Act festered[52] for 10 years before giving rise to the Revolutionary War and， ultimately， America gain independence.

为了筹集资金偿还债务和维护七年战争（1756～1763年）中从法国赢来的广大美国领土，英国政府于1765年3月22日颁布了臭名昭著的《印花税法案》。该法案对殖民地所有商用和合法使用的印刷材料直接征税，从报纸和传单到扑克牌和骰子都包括在内。

虽然印花税法在英国只是一个筹资的普通工具，却激起了殖民地的抗议风暴。在那个时期殖民者地人民已经遭遇了三大税法：《糖法案》[53]（1764年），这是一项对进口的纺织品，酒，咖啡和食用糖征收的新税；《货币法案》（1764年），导致殖民地人民使用的纸币大量贬值；《住宿法案》（1765年），要求殖民人民给英国部队提供食物和住宿。殖民者认为，作为英国臣民，英国议会不能未经各殖民地议会的同意就强制征税。殖民地人民认为这项权利受到了威胁，于是，他们举行暴动并恐吓印花税机构撤销此项法令。

马萨诸塞州的政治家塞缪尔·亚当斯成立了名为“自由之子”的秘密组织对此提出抗议，弗吉尼亚州立法机关和其他殖民地议会通过决议反对该法案。同年10月，9个殖民地派代表前往纽约出席印花税法案大会，拟定“权利和不满”的决议并送交议会和国王乔治三世。但他们不顾反对，仍决定《印花税法案》于1765年11月1日开始施行。

殖民地的人民以暴力抵制和经济对抗的方式来阻止该法案通过。商人呼吁抵制英国货物；自由之子组织暴力袭击海关和税官员的房子。此外，自由之子把印花税代售商安德鲁·奥利弗的肖像挂在他们所谓的“自由树”上施行绞刑。他们将肖像斩首焚烧，烧毁他们认为是“印花税署”的建筑物并闯入奥利弗的家中，扬言要杀死他。奥利弗为避免受到进一步的袭击，已经逃离单位，辞去职务。除了佐治亚州外，各州的“印花税代销人”都在胁迫下辞职，使《印花税法案》无法贯彻实施。

经过几个月的抗议和经济动荡以及本杰明·富兰克林在英国下议院的呼吁，议会投票决定于1766年3月废除印花税法。然而，同一天，国会通过了《宣告法案》，宣布英国政府对各殖民地享有自由和完全立法权。同时，议会通过了《1766年收入法案》，以弥补印花税和蜜糖税对英国收入造成的损失。尽管这未经他们同意，但殖民地人民对此毫无怨言的接受，因为糖蜜是朗姆酒制作的重要原料。

在事件发生后，因为国会不准备用武力平息暴乱，最终废除了法案。但印花税法案的废除并没有使得议会放弃它有权对殖民地人民强制征税的信念。殖民地人民认为议会不能强制征税。关于印花税法案的争吵则为独立战争的爆发埋下了种子。18世纪60年代后期议会再次试图在美国殖民地采用不受欢迎的征税措施，导致英美关系不断恶化，于1775年达到高潮，美国独立战争由此爆发。换句话说，印花税法所带来的问题纠结了10年才引发革命战争，最终美国获得独立。

The History of the Stamp Duty 印花税的历史

The Stamp duty is a tax that is levied on documents. Historically， this included the majority of legal documents such as： cheques； receipts； marriage licences； land transactions； etc.A physical stamp had to be attached to or impressed upon the document to denote that stamp duty had been paid before the document was legally effective.More modern versions of the tax no longer require a physical stamp.Stamp duty was first levied in the UK in 1694 to pay for the war with France.Although initially[54] only planned for four years， Stamp duty was so successful that it continues to this day.

At first the tax covered "vellum[55]， parchment[56] and paper". During the 18th and early 19th centuries， stamp duties were extended to cover newspapers， pamphlets， lottery tickets， apprentices'indentures， advertisements， playing cards， dice， hats， gloves， patent medicines， perfumes， insurance policies， gold and silver plate， hair powder and armorial bearings.The tax was extended to property sales in 1808.Now the term is usually confined to those charged on the transfer of land， property， mortgages[57]， insurance policies， bills of exchange and contract[58] notes.It was one of the chief causes of the American War of Independence， the American Colonies highly resenting taxation without representation.In 1765，the attempted enforcement of stamp duty in English colonies in America led to protestor's demands of "no taxation without representation" and ultimately to the Boston Tea Party and the outbreak[59] of the American War of Independence.It was repealed on March 18th 1766，but was replaced by the Declaratory Act formally asserting the right of Parliament to tax colonies.

In 1797，William Pitt the Younger virtually doubled the tax. In 1984 the Tory Chancellor Nigel Lawson eased the pressure on homebuyers by increasing the threshold[60] for stamp duty on property from ā25000 to ā30000 and reduced the highest rate of stamp duty from 2 per cent to 1 per cent.In 1991， during the last housing recession[61]， the Conservative government temporarily suspended stamp duty for nine months on all properties worth less than ā250000 in an effort to boost[62] sales.But during the housing boom[63] of the late 1990s/early 2000s， when many more houses became liable for stamp duty， Gordon Brown came under increasing pressure to adjust the thresholds accordingly.

印花税用于对文件征税。历史上，其征税对象包括大多数合法文件：支票、收据、结婚证书、土地交易等。将一种有形的邮票贴在或印在文件上以此表明印花税已支付，该文件在法律上是有效的。该税种更现代的版本已不再需要一个有形的邮票。1694年，英国首次征收印花税，用于英法战争。虽然最初只是一个4年的计划，但印花税是如此成功，以至于它一直持续18世纪60年代。

起初，印花税只对“牛皮纸，羊皮纸和草纸”征税，其征税范围到18世纪和19世纪初逐渐扩大，涵盖了报纸、传单、彩票、学徒契约、广告、扑克牌、骰子、帽子、手套、专利药品、香水、保险、黄金和白银板、头发粉和国徽。1808年此项税务扩展到房地产销售领域。现在该税法通常适用于土地转让，物业，抵押，保险单，汇票及买卖契约。它是美国独立战争的主要根源之一，美国的殖民地人民极度痛恨没有代表权的税收。1765年，当该项税法在英属北美殖民地施行时引发了抗议者“没有代表权就不纳税”的要求——最终导致波士顿倾茶事件和美国独立战争的爆发。这项税法于1766年3月18日废除，但由《宣告法案》取而代之，并正式肯定了议会对殖民地征税的权利。