Müskirat resmi
Encyclopedia
Müskirat resmi was a tax on alcohol in the Ottoman Empire
.
Strictly speaking, the şeriat forbade alcohol, so there were no alcohol taxes in the early empire. However, the Ottoman empire acquired increasingly large nonmuslim populations, and inherited the taxes and customs of conquered territories; so in the seventeenth century an alcohol tax for non-Muslims was inaugurated. There were, subsequently, complex changes to taxation of alcohol (and in some cases taxes were abolished or replaced with something else, only to be re-established later); but these different taxes were generally all known as müskirat resmi. Tax farming usually allowed tax collection to be done by a nonmuslim contractor, to avoid the need for a Muslim civil servant to be directly involved in the alcohol trade.
There was also a zecriye resmi - a tax on "prohibited goods" - applied to alcohol sold in markets in the eighteenth century.
Müskirat resmi persisted in the tanzimat
era; the Ministry of Finance established a separate department (zecriye emaneti) to collect revenues from alcohol taxation. Tax reforms simplified the rate at 20%, and imported alcohol was subject to another müskirat charge (instead of customs), which ranged from 10% to 12%. In 1861, the general müskirat tax was reduced from 20% to 10% - but alcohol sellers were required to pay for additional permits (ruhsatname; the cost was a proportion of their rent). Shortly afterwards, the rate increased to 15%. Towards the very end of the empire, further tax changes favoured beer
production over wine
or raki
.
Only in 1926 were alcoholic drinks made legal for Muslims (in what was, by then, Turkey
); manufacturing and distribution continued under government monopoly
.
Christian priests and monks were generally exempt from müskirat resmi on alcoholic drinks for their own personal use.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
Strictly speaking, the şeriat forbade alcohol, so there were no alcohol taxes in the early empire. However, the Ottoman empire acquired increasingly large nonmuslim populations, and inherited the taxes and customs of conquered territories; so in the seventeenth century an alcohol tax for non-Muslims was inaugurated. There were, subsequently, complex changes to taxation of alcohol (and in some cases taxes were abolished or replaced with something else, only to be re-established later); but these different taxes were generally all known as müskirat resmi. Tax farming usually allowed tax collection to be done by a nonmuslim contractor, to avoid the need for a Muslim civil servant to be directly involved in the alcohol trade.
There was also a zecriye resmi - a tax on "prohibited goods" - applied to alcohol sold in markets in the eighteenth century.
Müskirat resmi persisted in the tanzimat
Tanzimat
The Tanzimât , meaning reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. The Tanzimât reform era was characterized by various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire, to secure its territorial integrity against...
era; the Ministry of Finance established a separate department (zecriye emaneti) to collect revenues from alcohol taxation. Tax reforms simplified the rate at 20%, and imported alcohol was subject to another müskirat charge (instead of customs), which ranged from 10% to 12%. In 1861, the general müskirat tax was reduced from 20% to 10% - but alcohol sellers were required to pay for additional permits (ruhsatname; the cost was a proportion of their rent). Shortly afterwards, the rate increased to 15%. Towards the very end of the empire, further tax changes favoured beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
production over wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
or raki
Raki
-Alcoholic beverages:*Rakı, an anise-flavored spirit popular in Turkey*Any anise-flavored drink.-Fictional characters:*Raki, a character in the manga/anime series Claymore*Raki, a character in the game Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica...
.
Only in 1926 were alcoholic drinks made legal for Muslims (in what was, by then, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
); manufacturing and distribution continued under government monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
.
Christian priests and monks were generally exempt from müskirat resmi on alcoholic drinks for their own personal use.