remission of revenue is freely given after inspection and enquiry.
In Upper Burma the system is more complex. Here, as in Lower Burma, the intention has been to maintain the customs existing under Burmese rule. The two main divisions of land are into State (lèdaw) and hereditary (bobabaing). Lèdaw is the property of the State and is leased to cultivators. Under this head are grouped many tenures of interest, service (ahmudan) and others. In Magwe, Katha and Bhamo, communal tenures still subsist. In these cases, all culturable land in a village tract is held in common and is assigned temporarily to individuals, the distribution being in the hands of the headman. If a man has more land than he can properly cultivate, the headman may resume part and allot it to another. Bobabaing land is theoretically the private property of individual cultivators and formerly was subject to no State dues. It is now liable to revenue assessment, subject to adjustment of thathameda[1].
Land revenue is collected by village headmen who receive a commission on the collections. In 1919—20, the gross land revenue amounted to £3,037,600.
The next great head of revenue in Lower Burma is the capitation tax. This is a poll tax levied at a fixed rate on all adult males. The normal rate is 5s. a year on bachelors and 10s. on married men. Government servants, monks, schoolmasters, and the aged and infirm, are exempt. In poor districts, the rates are reduced. In 1919—20, the receipts were £555,300. In recent years, income tax has been imposed in Lower Burma; payers of income tax do not pay capitation tax. In this way, the obvious inequity of the uniform capitation tax has been remedied.
The corresponding levy in Upper Burma is an impost inherited from native rule called thathameda, a graduated income tax. It is levied at varying rates, the highest being
- ↑ See below.
