'File F/2 II Miscellaneous Correspondence with the Manamah Municipality' [‎62r] (123/464)

2
(1) . Tenants could not be induced to pay either their
rent or house tax to the house-ovvners, who in turn
found it difficult to pay the house tax.
(2) . The ^Municipality w r ere alw r ays in a position to make
the occupier of a house, whether he was a tenant
or an owner, pay the tax.
(3) . Many owners, particularly foreigners, are absent
from Bahrain for long periods.
( 4 ) . Much of the ^inicipal property is owned by the
Ruling Family and rented to shop-keepers and others
on the customary understanding that taxes will
always be paid by tenants.
U When, after 11 months, the old system of taking
house tax from tenants w r as reverted to the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. was
informed and no action having been taken by him, the %nicipal-
ity assumed that silence meant consent. Yftien I was appointed
Officiating Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. on reference to previous papers I
discovered that there was no decision whether or not foreign
house owners or their tenants should pay house tax and took the
matter up with the Municipality after P had been approached by
certain foreign house owners, vdio complained that the assessment
was excessive and that if they were made to pay house tax they
■would have to increase their rents.
limited to that of foreign house owners in Bahrain. The system
whereby house tax was recovered from house owners has proved a
failure for the reasons set forth above and in both Municipalities
house taxes are recovered from tenants in the case of all
Bahrain subjects. It would obviously create an impossible
situation were I to insist that in the case of foreign house
owners house tax v/as to be recovered from them and not from the
tenants. Since the weight of experience has shown that the
only satisfactory method of collecting house tax in Bahrain is
from the tenants I agreed to allow that system to continue in
so far as foreign house owners were concerned.
The interest of the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , of course, is
18-7-1935