TRENDEFRAtlas of the Sultans · Glossary

Term · Finance and economy

Tax farming

Also known as: iltizam, mukataa, mültezim

Granting a person the right to collect a state tax revenue in return for a set payment.

The person who took on this right was called a mültezim; he paid the agreed sum to the state and collected the tax himself. Iltizam, which in today's terms could be called a kind of privatisation of taxation, spread after the 17th century as the timar system declined. The revenue units run in this way were called mukataa.

Related terms

Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, article “İLTİZAM” (in Turkish); text condensed for the atlas.