The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c7.s2.5

c7.s2.5

***Finance***: Great attention was paid to finance, for it was realised as early as the days of the eminent political thinker and statesman, Kautilya, that this was one of the two most important departments of government, the other being the army. There were three main sources of income, namely, (*a*) land revenue from the crown land, that is, those areas of the country which were directly administered by the government, (*b*) tributes from the vassal chiefs, and (*c*) taxes other than land revenue, such as excise, irrigation duties on goods charged at ferries, roads and frontiers of the kingdom, income from mines, etc. The State's share of the produce of the soil was usually one-sixth and was called *bhag*. We do not know the rates of other taxes. Perhaps there was no income-tax. There were one or two emergency taxes. The items of expenditure were civil administration, army and the king's household. There might have been some kind of budget-making, though it might not be scientific like what we have nowadays. The economic system must have been very sound indeed, for the country was extremely prosperous. People were well off and free from want.