Maral or marala (''death duty'') is an unpopular tax system which was practiced in Sri Lanka. The tax was applied on property after the death of the person who had the rights to it. Two-thirds of property could be transferred to kinsmen or heirs upon the owner's death, but one-third would be taken by the state. If there were no kinsmen, the entire property could levied by the state. Similar practice was practiced in India too. However, Christians were not subject to the tax during
Portuguese rule
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
and maral tax collector was appointed to collect the tax.
However, women in
Kingdom of Kandy
The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century.
Initially a client kingdom ...
were exempt from this tax. During the
British rule
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
* or dire ...
in Sri Lanka, such tax system was removed for the welfare of the people. Even though,
Sri Vikrama Rajasinha
Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (Sinhala language, Sinhala:ශ්රී වික්රම රාජසිංහ, Tamil language, Tamil:ஸ்ரீ விக்கிரம ராஜசிங்கன் Telugu language, Telugu:శ్రీ వి ...
revived maral tax during his reign.
References
Portuguese Ceylon
Economic history of Sri Lanka
Taxation in Sri Lanka
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