History of Taxation in Rhode Island to the Year 1790

Chapter 20: Tonnage Duties.

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About This Book

A detailed study traces the development and administration of public revenue in Rhode Island from its earliest settlements through the early state period, examining legal frameworks, local and colonial practices, and financial institutions. It surveys municipal methods such as fines, fees, land payments, and targeted levies, the adoption of paper money, and customs, excise, and tonnage duties, while analyzing valuation practices, tax law changes, and treasury administration. Emphasis falls on the shift from personal service and ad hoc assessments to systematic taxation and on practical fiscal records and statutory responses to changing economic needs.

Tonnage Duties.

Tonnage duties were imposed as early as 1690, and continued until Rhode Island entered the union. They were first levied for the support of the fort and were payable in either money or powder. About the middle of the eighteenth century a light house was built and additional tonnage duties were imposed for its support. The amounts varied from time to time, according to the needs of the fort or light house, and there was discrimination in favor of vessels engaged in home trade. In 1767, a time of peace, the duty imposed for the support of the fort was 2 S., or 1 lb. of powder per ton for all vessels above ten tons, not owned by inhabitants of the colony. The "light money" was 4 1/2d. per ton for foreign vessels and 3s. for each clearing for coasters.