'File 2/4 III TAXATION OF SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS.' [54r] (112/461)
The record is made up of 1 volume (225 folios). It was created in 8 Dec 1932-26 Mar 1934. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
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by reason of hie receiving a lower price for the produce than
he would have received had there been no taxation. it should
not, however, be beyond the resources of the Shaikh to provide
a statement of dates and grain grown upon his estates and sold
in Iraq by his agents. His agents doubtless keep some tally
showing how the crops are disposed of, and it would probably be
possible to verify, by reference to the Iraqi Government tax
records, the transactions which the Shaikh claims have involved
him in loss. The statement should cover the same calendar |
year as is suggested for the figures of export# The rate of tax
is comfiuted according to a fixed official conversion rate, and
no difficult questions of valuation of produce need be encounter
ed.
Given the above information, there should be little
difficulty in assessing, in September next, with a degree of
accuracy, the extentjof the loss which the Shaikh has suffered,
and will be likely to suffer in the future, by the imposition
of the istihlak tax. ,, y f° ^ ^ :J 1
6. The Hon f ble the
Political Resident
A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
,
in his despatch No.34/df 1932, dated the 16th of August 1932,
paragraph 6, offered to try and obtain whatever details are
required for this purpose from the Shaikh. I recommend that
the Shaikh should be asked to provide these particulars. I can
think of no other simple method of obtaining them.
7. I understand that the question as to whether the
payment of compensation to the Shaikh is a legal obligation
which rests on His Majesty’s Government has been referred for
opinion ; to the Law Officers of the Crown, and that if it is held
that no legal obligation exists a lump sum payment will be made
to the Shaikh ex gratia to be shared if possible between the
Treasury and the Government of India. Such a payment would
finally/
About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence related to the date gardens owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait, Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, and the Shaikh of Mohammerah, Khaz'al al-Ka'bi, in southern Iraq. A particular taxation system called Istihlak (consumption) tax has been imposed by the Iraqi Government on the produce of the gardens. British Officials discuss payment of export duty on garden produce from the Shaikh of Kuwait’s gardens in Iraq, and the allegations made by the Shaikh of Kuwait against the customs authorities at Faw.
The British Ambassador in Baghdad reports that because of the enforcement of the new tax law, the Iraqi Government is no longer able to make exempt from taxes the Shaikh‘s gardens' produce that has been exported from Iraq for the personal use of the Shaikh.
The volume includes a copy of minutes of a conference on the Shaikh’s date gardens held in Baghdad and minutes of an interdepartmental meeting held in London in regards to the gardens issue.
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. , Kuwait, asks the Shaikh of Kuwait to provide full and detailed statements showing all payments and losses resulting from the imposition of Istihlak tax by the Iraqi Government. The Shaikh in turn provides six statements (ff 194-221):
- Statement I. Showing the amount levied as Istihlak tax from merchants purchasing and exporting dates in 1932.
- Statement II. Showing the amount levied as Istihlak tax from merchants purchasing and exporting dates in 1933.
- Statement III. Showing the amount levied from the Shaikh as Istihlak tax and under the heading 'Customs duties' on articles exported for the Shaikh’s private consumption.
- Statement IV. Showing the quantities of dates which the Shaikh was obliged to surrender from his own share to the fellaheen Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. (peasants) working in his gardens under the Istihlak tax.
- Statement V. Showing the losses sustained by the Shaikh as a result of the disobedience of the fellaheen Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. due to the introduction of the Istihlak tax.
- Statement VI. Showing the grand total of the above lists.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (225 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 227; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are present in parallel between ff 6-222; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/5/137
- Title
- 'File 2/4 III TAXATION OF SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:5v, 7r:20v, 22r:28r, 29r:78v, 78ar:78av, 79r:111v, 114r:117v, 119r:132v, 134r:193v, 222r:227r, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence