Colonial New Jersey's Provincial Fiscal Structure, 1709-1775: Spending Obligations, Revenue Sources, and Tax Burdens in War and in Peace

The spending obligations and revenue sources of colonial New Jersey’s provincial government for the years 1704 through 1775 are reconstituted using forensic accounting techniques from primary sources. Such has not been done previously for any British North American colony. These data are used to assess colonial New Jersey’s provincial fiscal structure. The methods for raising revenue to meet normal peacetime and emergency wartime expenses are identified and analyzed. The provincial tax burdens imposed on New Jersey’s subjects are calculated. How the British interfered with New Jersey’s provincial fiscal structure is identified. What revenues and tax burdens would have been without this interference are estimated.