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'File 2/4 II TAXATION of SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS.' [‎139r] (282/448)

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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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- 2 .
early deel• ten should bs taken regarding this question,
which has been under consideration for two years now and the
issues of which are really very simple. 7e gare the Shaikhs
of Kuwait and Mohammerah definite promises that the proper,
ties belonging to them in 'Iraq should be free from all
taxation* Owing perhaps to a misunderstanding this obliga
tion was not included among the other financial commitments
that the 'Iraq Gorernment were compelled to assume and they
hare consistently protested against the liability. It is,
I submit, obviously incumbent upon His Majesty's Government
to honour their bonds, and there are two ways of doing sox
either to compel the 'Iraq Government to continue this
exemption, or to pay the taxation on the gardens themselves
by capitalising the sum involved. The fact that the 'Iraq
Government have changed the form of taxation in no way
releases us from our liability (though it may of course
affect the sum involved) so long as that tax falls either
directly or indirectly on the owners of the gardens. The
Shaikh can and does claim that he holds the definite promise
of the British Government that his gardens shall be free
from all taxation, and this promise, I submit, it is in
cumbent on His Majesty’s Government to fulfil. If the
'Iraq authorities are now allowed to levy any tax on
properties, the principle will have been adraicted, and the
Shaikh will, in my humble opinion,be able to charge ua with
a breach of faith*
3. In the discussions which have taken place up to
the present it 1». been generally assumed that «re are not now
in a position to eompol the ’Iraq Government to continue
this sxemptlon, and that the only solution is for the
liability #. s o

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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.' [‎139r] (282/448), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/136, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100057155977.0x000053> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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