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'File 2/4 II TAXATION of SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS.' [‎63r] (130/448)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (220 folios). It was created in 1 Jan 1931-19 Dec 1932. 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. .

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COPY.
(*
CONFIDENTIAL A.
The Eeaiaency,
Baghdad., 18th September 1931.
Sir,
I have the honour to refer to your predecessor*s
despatch Confidential,dated the 24th of July,1931, on the
subject of the date gardens of the Shaikh of Kuwait.
2. On receipt of that despatch I deemed it advisable to
await the report of a committee which had been appointed by
the 'Iraqi Government to consider the financial effect of
the change in the method of taxation on agricultural produce,
consequent upon the passing of the new laws for the collec
tion of Istihlak tax and land and water rent. This has now
been received and a copy of the relevant portions of it is
enclosed herewith. It will be seen that the law relating
to land and water rent, which is of a temporary character,
providing for a general reduction of 25% on the existing
rates, does not materially affect the question at issue,and
the main consideration is the Istihlak tax. /'
3 . As stated in paragraph 5 of Sir Francis Humphrys*
despatch Confidential B,dated the 29th of May,1931,taxation
has been previously assessed on an area of land, viz .the
Jarib,but such assessment was based on the produce to be
derived from that area, and accordingly,the assessment on
areas identical in extent,would vary considerably according
to their productive capabilities.
4. The new Istihlak law abolishes the area as the unit of
assessment and substitutes the produce, irrespective of the
land on which it was grown, as the unit of assessment.
Moreover, the commodities do not become taxable at their
place of production,but at the place of Istihlak (i.e.
consumption in the sense of sale), and any produce actually
consumed by the occupiers is,therefore,exempt from taxation.
5 . For the following reasons it is difficult at this
stage

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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. In particular, the correspondence concerns the Government of Iraq's intention to end the immunity from taxation (on the gardens) that had been granted to the former ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ, and the Shaikh of Mohammerah by the British Government in return for their military support against the Ottoman Empire in the First World War.

The correspondence is mainly between British officials discussing the possible solutions to the gardens taxation issue. Among the suggested solutions was the selling of the property. British officials report that the Shaikh of Kuwait is entirely flexible in regards to the selling of certain estates but not the ones in Al-Faw. But they also suggested that it would be rather useless for the Iraq Government to attempt to purchase the gardens as they belong to more than a hundred relatives of the Shaikh who depend on the produce for their maintenance.

The volume includes statements of an estimated value of the Shaikh of Kuwait’s estates on Shatt al-Arab. It also contains economic reports on the proposed new basis of taxation on agricultural produce in Iraq, and copies of the Government of Iraq’s new laws for the collection of consumption ( Istihlak ) tax and for the collection of land rent and water rent (ff 79-101). The correspondence also includes records of meetings held in London in regard to the question of the taxations as well as the new system of land revenue collections in Iraq.

The main correspondence is between the British Resident, Bushire, 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, the High Commissioner, Baghdad, and the Colonial Office, Downing Street, London.

Extent and format
1 volume (220 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 222; 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; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. One of these additional sequences has been crossed out.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 2/4 II TAXATION of SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS.' [‎63r] (130/448), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/136, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100057155976.0x000083> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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