Now, Sir, let us examine the taxation proposals, the powers that are given to the units in this paper, to the provinces. They have been itemised from item 40 to item 58. What more does a province want? They are as many as 18 items of taxation; but let us examine them. The House will pardon me for a few minutes if I cooly and analytically examine them item by item. The first item is land revenue. Now, Sir, it is a notorious fact that for years the agitation has been not to revise the settlements and to do away with land revenue as far as possible. Prime Ministers and Ministers of Provinces elected on adult franchise having the whole weight of the elected authority behind them in the Councils will find very hard indeed to raise land revenue. What of the Prime Ministers are do it in the race of that agitation ? Land revenue, far from being an increasing asset will, I venture to prosphesy, be a decreasing asset in the future so that land revenue may not be the great asset that it is claimed to be. Let us look at time 41-Duties of excise on the following goods-alcoholic liquors, opium and medicinal and toilet preparations. Alcoholic liquor, Mr. President, with a mandate from the Centre for prohibition which most of the Provinces have already accepted, with a ban which is demanded both by popular opinion and even by the dictates from the Centre–what is the revenue that we can expect from alcohol ? Opium again is controlled by the Centre and is subject to International Conferences and regulations. It is bound to be a vanishing revenue. Let us therefore realise that 41 may as well be abolished as put on the list as a source of revenue for the province. Taxes on agricultural income, and I take that item along with Estates Duty in respect of agricultural land and duties in respect of succession to agricultural lands. When the question of the abolishing of zamindari is in the air, and I understand it is going to be an accomplished fact very soon, when division of large holdings is bound to come when peasant proprietorship is going to be recognized or made as far as possible feasible, taxation on agricultural land is bound to become a very poor source of revenue indeed, and if you take it along with Estate Duty in respect of agricultural land, the peasant proprietor having two acres to four acres holdings, what sort of duty are you going to collect from it?
