The Sugar Act, also known as the American Revenue Act or the American Duties Act, was a revenue-raising act

Revenue Act

-British Empire:*Revenue Act of 1764, popularly known as the Sugar Act*Revenue Act of 1766*Revenue Act of 1767 , one of the Townshend Acts-United States:* Revenue Act of 1861* Revenue Act of 1862...

 passed by the Parliament of Great Britain

Parliament of Great Britain

The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...

 on April 5, 1764. The preamble to the act stated: "it is expedient that new provisions and regulations should be established for improving the revenue of this Kingdom ... and ... it is just and necessary that a revenue should be raised ... for defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the same." The earlier Molasses Act of 1733, which had imposed a tax of six pence per gallon of molasses

Molasses

Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...

, had never been effectively collected due to colonial evasion.