Skip to item: of 246
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

Coll 15/4 'Internal Affairs: financial situation' [‎14r] (27/246)

This item is part of

The record is made up of 1 file (121 folios). It was created in 6 Oct 1937-18 Oct 1944. It was written in English and French. 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.

Apply page layout

THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOYERNMENT
May 11, 1938.
Section 1.
[J 1925/42/16] Copy No. f ,-
Sir M. Lampson to Viscount Halifax. — (Received May 11.)
(No. 491.)
My Lord, Cairo, May 2, 1938.
I HAVE the honour to enclose herein an important document which was
communicated to this Embassy on the 4th April by the Minister of Finance,(') and
which embodies the first attempt made by the Egyptian Government to meet the
cost of putting the country’s defences on a sounder footing than they are at
present. The additional revenue required is to he obtained from three new taxes—
a tax on income derived from property other than realty (“ movable property ”),
stamp tax and inheritance tax.
2. The enclosure consists of the following elements :—
(a) A letter of the 23rd March, 1938, from the chairman of the Fiscal
Commission to the Minister of Finance (pp. 1-3).
(b) A speech by the Minister of Finance to the Fiscal Commission on the
4th January, 1938 (pp. 7-10).
(c) A note of the 15th January, 1938, laid before the Council of Ministers
by the Minister of Finance (pp. 11-22).
(d) An extract from pp. 20-21 of the note of the 25th March, 1938, to the
Council of Ministers on the 1938-39 budget (pp. 23-25).
(e) A note of the 8th February, 1938, by the chairman of the Fiscal
Commission, on the draft Movable Property Income Tax Law
(pp. 31-68).
(/) A complementary note on the same subject by the chairman of the Fiscal
Commission (pp. 69-75).
(g) Draft Movable Property Income Tax Law (pp. 74-94).
(h) Explanatory note by a member of the Fiscal Commission on the draft
Stamp Tax Law (pp. 97-100).
(i) Draft Stamp Tax Law (pp. 101-119).
(j) Explanatory note by the chairman of the Fiscal Commission on the draft
Inheritance Tax Law (pp. 123-127).
(k) Draft Inheritance Tax Law (pp. 128-142).
These documents reveal the care with which the Ministry of Finance have
studied the means, as represented by the three new revenue-producing laws
mentioned above, of providing fresh revenue to meet the enhanced cost of the
defence of Egypt.
3. In his speech of the 4th January to the Fiscal Commission, the Minister
of Finance, in summarily reviewing the need for increased revenues to the extent
of some £E. 4 million annually to meet the higher cost of defence, drew attention
to the uneven incidence of Egyptian taxation, which, whilst reaching many
through the land tax, none the less failed to touch many others, and imposed on
some a burden heavier than they should bear and on others too light a load. Thus,
developing this thesis, he stressed the need for a tax which would take toll of
capital or movable property (which, he observed, incidentally, had trespassed
considerably on the domain of real property in the form of mortgages or long-term
loans) and pointed the way to taxation of income not directly derived from land—
a modified form, in short, of income tax. Ismail Sidky Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. next confessed
himself strongly in favour of an inheritance tax, observing that this was a form
of taxation which should already have been in existence long ago, and showed a
wise appreciation of practical difficulties, at the same time condemning certain
dispositions (which clearly were present in the draft law at an earlier moment)
whereby retroactive force was to have been given to the tax. His Excellency next
alluded to the “ Patente ” Law, which has been in draft form for some time. (*)
EGYPT AND SUDAN
CONFIDENTIAL.
7,COO
| v,.> \ J v w
L . 2 -ii-
(*) Xot printed.

About this item

Content

The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and a booklet relating to the financial situation of the Egyptian Government and the process of fiscal reform.

Included in the file is:

  • a copy (ff 20-90) of the booklet 'Projet de reforme du regime fiscal' published by the Egyptian Government, Ministry of Finance, Fiscal Commission
  • a letter (ff 104-110) from the Financial Secretary of the Sudan Government on the impact of a reduction in subsidy by the Egyptian Government

The file features the following principal correspondents: HM Ambassador to Egypt and the Sudan (Sir Miles Wedderburn Lampson); the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Viscount Halifax); and the Financial Secretary, Sudan Government.

The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (121 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 123; 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. Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence between ff 20-97.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

Coll 15/4 'Internal Affairs: financial situation' [‎14r] (27/246), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2767, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100054085450.0x00001e> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100054085450.0x00001e">Coll 15/4 'Internal Affairs: financial situation' [&lrm;14r] (27/246)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100054085450.0x00001e">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000602.0x000131/IOR_L_PS_12_2767_0029.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000602.0x000131/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image