LIAQUAT ALI KHAN'S BUDGET OF 1947-18 79 Indian and foreign-owned. The most important of these was a special income tax of 25 per cent on business profits exceeding Rs. 100,000 per annum. He emphasized that the minimum level of Rs. 100,000 corresponded to the 'standard profit* defined by the Excess profit Tax Act introduced by the Government during the war years. The yield of revenue under this heading was estimated lat Rs. 30 crores for the budgetary year. The second direct tax proposed was a capital gains tax to yield a further revenue of Rs. 3.5 crores. This tax was aimed against those who were making quick money by transfer of capital assets which had undergone rapid revaluation due to the war situation. To spare ordinary individuals with moderate asset holdings, Liaquat proposed a relief from the taxation of profits made from capital transfer up to Rs. 5,000 a year. The proposal also distinguished between gains made from the disposal of capital assets held for two years or less and those held for more than two years. The latter were exempted from the 'super tax*. Yet another direct tax devised to yield further revenue was the corporation tax. This was increased from one anna to two annas (i.e. from 1/16 to 1/8 of a rupee), to yield Rs. 4 crores for the year. While raising the minimum level of income from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 2,500 for income tax, Liaquat also intended to change the structure of super-tax* rates applicable to high individual incomes. The existing .maximum rate of 62 per cent super-tax was applicable beyond Rs. 350,000 for unearned income and beyond Rs. 500,000 for earned income. He proposed to lower this limit to the level of Rs. 120,000 for the unearned income and Rs. 150,000 for the latter. This, he estimated, could yield an additional revenue of Rs. 2.5 crores for the year.8 Among the indirect taxes, it was proposed to increase the export duty on tea from two annas to four annas (from 12.5 per cent to 25 per cent of a rupee) per pound. This was estimated to yield additional revenue to the extent of Rs. 4 crores, but as pointed out by the Finance Minister, the duty was of a 'temporary nature* and it might be necessary to reduce the rate if there was any danger of curtailment of India's exports of tea due to this duty.9 While the abolition of the Salt Tax and increasing the minimum level of income for taxation were intended to bring some relief to the poorer sections of the population, Liaquat's new taxes were directed against big business and other excessively wealthy people. In fact he had another arrow pointed at big business. Archibald Fowland, the last British Finance Member, had imposed in the preceding year a new tax on business dividend aimed not so much at raising revenue as at discouraging the dissipation of a company's resources through payments of excessive dividends. Under Rowland's scheme, 62 per cent of the earnings of a company were allowed for dividends. Liaquat intended to decrease this rate to 42 per cent through taxation. No yield was estimated from this tax on dividend as the measure was a