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Issues Involved:
1. Competence of the State Legislature to impose plantation tax. 2. Discrimination and arbitrariness of the tax. 3. Classification of plantations and equality of treatment under Article 14. Detailed Analysis: 1. Competence of the State Legislature to Impose Plantation Tax: The petitioners argued that the Kerala Legislature lacked the competence to impose the plantation tax as there is no specific entry in the legislative Lists (Nos. 2 and 3) in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. They contended that the tax should be assessed based on the produce from the land, similar to how land revenue is calculated. The court referred to the precedent set in Kunnathat Thathunni Moopil Nair v. The State of Kerala, which declared the Land Tax Act, 1955 unconstitutional. However, the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961, now included in the 9th Schedule, is protected under Article 31-B, making the competency to impose land tax no longer disputable. The court concluded that the State Legislature had the competence to impose the plantation tax. 2. Discrimination and Arbitrariness of the Tax: The petitioners claimed that the tax imposed by the Kerala Plantation (Additional Tax) Act, 1960, and its amendment in 1967 was discriminatory and arbitrary. They argued that the tax did not consider differences in the fertility and yield of plantations, resulting in unequal treatment of unequally situated plantations. The court examined the uniform rate of Rs. 50 per hectare imposed on all plantations, regardless of their yield. It was argued that such uniformity could lead to discrimination as it did not account for the varying productivity of different plantations. The court noted that while the tax might fall more heavily on some plantations than others, this did not necessarily constitute discrimination. The court emphasized that the Legislature has a wide latitude in classification for taxation and that the burden of proving discrimination is heavy, especially for a taxing statute. 3. Classification of Plantations and Equality of Treatment Under Article 14: The petitioners argued that the tax imposed a uniform burden on unequally situated plantations, violating Article 14 of the Constitution. They cited differences in yield between plantations in different areas, attributing these differences to factors such as soil fertility, altitude, and rainfall. The court acknowledged these differences but emphasized that the Legislature had attempted to equalize the tax burden through a method inherent in the tax scheme. The court referred to precedents, including East Indian Tobacco Co. v. State of Andhra Pradesh, which allowed the State to pick and choose objects, persons, methods, and even rates for taxation if done reasonably. The court concluded that the Legislature had made a reasonable attempt to equalize the tax burden and that the law did not single out any particular plantation for hostile or unequal treatment. Conclusion: The court held that the Kerala Plantation (Additional Tax) Act, 1960, and its amendment in 1967 were constitutional. The petitions were dismissed with costs, as the court found no evidence of discrimination or arbitrariness in the imposition of the plantation tax. The court emphasized the wide discretion granted to the Legislature in matters of taxation and the heavy burden on those challenging the legislative arrangement to prove discrimination.
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