'File 5/1 XIV Kuwait Oil Company' [‎170r] (347/570)

89£g,. ON .,. < yjESTlON OF PAY MENT BY STAFF OF
MUNICIPAL M OTOR CAR TAX .
It bHB been a matter of some diffioultT to
obUln any y«ry pr«ol»e detail of the Munlci p£l l cw T«
and Petrol Tax and to date no coot of the
the.e taxe. has been forthcoming^ should c^iee of the.e^
document, prove to be obtainable, we will forward them?* you.
From enquiries that we have made, it annea**®
that up till Auguat 1937 there was a Municipal Car T^T ™
R..2/- per month per vehicle paid by all .ot£ oil o^.r.
« e ? ce P tlon <>f the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
Staff who had diplomatic Immunity and such other, a. .ere
granted immunity by K.K. the Shaikh. Member, of the Company'.
s b|ff * h o had private oar., including General Superintendent
and Chief Local Representative did not pay the tax as thev
were not informed of its existence^ nor were they asked to
pay it#
In August 1937 the Municipality obtained
permission to substitute for the Motor Car Tax, a tax of
2 annas per tin on Petrol sold in the town.
The alteration in the tax was due, we under
stand, to difficulty in collecting it and discontent amongst
taxi driver* who presumably, do not notice the tax so much
in its new font®
It is understood that car owners living and
obtaining their petrel outside the Town do not pay this tax,
however this appears to be a doubtful point®
Members of the Company’s Staff owning private
cars have been allowed to purchase their petrol requirements
through the Company at the Company rdtes and thus have not
been paying the Petrol Tax®
One other point that may be pertinant is that
taxi owners who hire their care by the day to the Company
have recently been forced to pay the Car Tax of Ra®2/- per
vehicle, in spite of considerable protest, as owing to ths
fact that the Company fuels these cars, the owners avoid
payment of Petrol Tax.
The action taken by the authorities as regards
these men seems to us to be quite irregular as their vehicles
are employed on Company business and the petrol used is
therefore untaxable. However, as they are all Kuwaitis, we
consider we should not interfere in this matter*
The following points have had our considerationj-
(1) Which tax le payable. Motor Car Tax or Petrol Tax ?
As the Petrol Tax was substituted for the Motor
in so far as the general public were concerned, then
the Tax our Staff are liable to pay is the Petrol Tax
and not the Car Tax®
Payment of a special Motor Car Tax by one section
of the community only (i®e.Company Staff^ lays open the
to extortionate taxation of that section of the
community at the will of the local authorities.