Page 296 - Records of Bahrain (3) (ii)_Neat
P. 296
712 Records of Bahrain
dation , the crowd accepted these assuranoos and disporgod.
After this there followed a 3ories of disous3ions at which I was
aslcod to advise. It v/aa pointed out to me that they Shaiks de
sired to introduce reforms and wished to suhstituto reasonable and
just taxation, for the obnoxious taxes hitherto forcod from tho
Shiahs. I learnt that, apart from the customs, tho revenue of the
Shaiks, has been derived as follows.
1* Date garden tax. Collected quite arbitrarily, according to the
whim and appetite for oppression of the particular shaikling with
in whoso area the garden exists. Practically collected from
Sh^i^s only.
2» 'Haqab^h' literally ‘neck tax', or poll tox, levied on males,
at varying rates in different localities. It has been collected
from Shiahs only and is particularly obnoxious to them.
3. Pish tax. Loviod from Shiahs only at varying rates.
4. A special ' ix on Shiahs during Liuharram.
5. A variety of taxes collected in kind from Shiahs only.
6. A pearling tax. This was originally collected from all pear
ling boats, which are mainly owned by Sunnis. Of late years a
large number of the boat owners havo ceased paying. A similar
tax is collected by the rulers of Kowait, Qatar, otc., and is the
acknowledged right of the Shaik.
% advice was asked as to the form reasonable futuro taxation might
take. After several discussions and sounding of local opinion,
the following scheme for taxes was thought feasible -
1. Date tax of l/lOth on gardens watered by flow, and l/20 on
those watered by lift, to bo collected uniformly. This tax is
adraissable under Shara' Law.
2. Pish tax of l/lOth on fi|h caught in the local fish traps, &
l/20tli on fish caught otherwise.
3. Abolition of 'tfaqabieh' and, all other taxes on Shiahs, and
substitue therefore a very ground tax on all houses, other
than those in the towns of Uanameh and Muharraqjli which pay Muni
cipal taxes. To be collected without religious distinction.
Details, v/hich need not bo gono into in this report, were discussed
