Excuse me as I haven't had an early american history class since high school, but I was thinking about this the other day and how in my high school class they never really talked about the reasons for remaining loyalists during the revolution. They simply acknowledged their existence and went on and on about the reasons for independence.
I'm asking specifically about an average tax paying citizen, but answers about any kind of person are appreciated.
There were many reasons for citizens remaining loyal to Britain. Some were employed by the British and wanted to remain employed. Others feared the chaos that would come from breaking away from established government. The most common reason was they could not see the big deal of taxes and why Americans would want independence. Hope this helps!