Page:Indian Journal of Economics Volume 2.djvu/338

8fi4 $. M. PAGAR ministers o! religion, the ministers of justice, the government ofticers, and men of the army and navy. ? (?) Tl&e Lic?e Taz. At any rate the Indian Government, with a view to avoid a vast deficit, levied a license tax in 1867 according to a gradua?d scale on all professions and trades, ranging from 4 rupees ? 25 rupees in such a way that the rate should in no case exceed 2 per cent, the minimum license ?ee being Rs. 4 on all profits of Rs. 200 and less than 'Rs. 500 a year, while the maximum license fee was no less than Rs. 500. s Persons in the public service, though they did not have to take out a license, were subject ?o the tax. Military officials not in civil employ, whose pay and allowances did not exceed Rs. 6,000 p?r annum, and the Government employees with a salary of less than Rs.l,000 a year were .not liable to the tax. Cultivators of land, not keeping a shop ,for the sale o! produce, which would be equivalent to' practis- ing a trade, the land-lords, and the hou_se-holders, were also exempted. On the whole this was an improvement over Income Tax Act of?1860 under which agricultural incomes were assessed. But it was, like most other license taxes, unjust in that it fell mainly on the small traders; moreover those who made higher profits also paid the same rate, that is 2 per cent or even less in the case of those whose profits were. more than Rs. 25,000 a year. Add to this the small minimum allowed, and the favoritism shown to the Government employees with a salary of less than Rs. 1,000 a year. I Moral and Material Progress of India, 1882-8, p. 176. S The defioit for 1866-7 was 2,000,000. It was also in this yesr that Indian fisoal year was made to oorrespond with the British fisoal year. lJ The following soale was adopted :-- Bs. 4 on profits from trades of Bs. 200 and lsss than Rs. 500. Rs. l0 on profits from trades of Bs. ?)0 and less than RS. 1000. Rs. 20 on profits from tradss of Bs. 1000 and less than Bs. ?)00. Re. 100 on profits from trsdes of Re. 6000 and less than Re. 10,000. the