The Declaratory Act of 1766 declared that the British Parliament had the absolute right to tax colonies in North America. This act was passed to assert the authority of the British government to tax its subjects in North America after it repealed the much-hated Stamp Act.The Declaratory Act declared that the British Parliament had full power and authority to make laws and statutes for the colonies. Enacted in November 1765, the controversial act forced colonists to buy a British stamp for every official document they obtained. The Stamp Act was enacted on November 1, 1765. The colonists greeted the arrival of the stamps with violence and economic retaliation. Ripeness is not based in the Declaratory Judgment Act—it is founded in Article III. The American Colonies Act 1766 (6 Geo. 3. c. The colonies had resisted the implementation of direct taxes, but the Declaratory Act reserved Parliament's right to impose them. It imposed a tax on all papers and official documents in the American colonies, though not in England.