How harmful was the Tea Act of 1773 to the American colonies?

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The Tea Act did not involve new taxes.It was, however, designed to give the British East India Company (BEIC) a monopoly on tea trade.

Prior to this, Americans drank a lot of untaxed tea from other sources (including smuggling). The monopoly given to the BEIC meant that all tea would now be taxed.

The BEIC was struggling under the burden of taxes it had to pay (and the Americans did not). The new monopoly meant that the BEIC could "pass on" their taxes to the Americans. This was good for the company, good for the "system" as a whole, but bad for Americans who formerly had escaped tea taxes.

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