Q. Consider the following statements regarding tax collection during Mahajanapada period:
- Taxes on crops was fixed to 1/6th of what was produced.
- Taxes collected on crops was known as Biswa.
Which of the above is / are correct?
Answer:
Only 1
Notes: As the rulers of the mahajanapadas were (a) building huge forts (b) maintaining big armies, they needed more resources. And they needed officials to collect these. So, instead of depending on occasional gifts brought by people, as in the case of the raja of the janapadas, they started collecting regular taxes. Taxes on crops were the most important. This was because most people were farmers. Usually, the tax was fixed at 1/6th of what was produced. This was known as bhaga or a share.