176 chapter five
On the issue of the distribution of Zakàh revenue, which came
under the Zakàh section in his book, Abù-Yùsuf stressed three points:
(a) Zakàh revenue should not be mixed with revenues from other
taxes, and (b) revenue from Zakàh should be strictly distributed as
stipulated in the Qur"àn, and (c) this revenue should be distributed
to local beneficiaries in the town, city, or region from where the
revenue was collected. There was one exception: the stipulated share
of “in the cause of God”, this may be allocated generally, and a
local surplus may be distributed to other localities. Notably, this,
from the economic point of taxation, would help reduce transportation
costs and consequently decrease the administrative burden of tax.
Also, the collectors of Zakàh should be given their shares from its
revenue, as stated in the Qur"àn, but if the revenue was not sufficient
to give them, the general pool of Zakàh or even other pools could
be used to pay them their needs. Payment to these administrators
ought to be in moderation but without deprivation and should be
determined by the caliph himself. Interestingly enough, Abù-Yùsuf
seemed to have had in mind two points; not to overburden the
administrators with more than what they were paid to do, and, per-
haps, to reduce the possible immoral hazard that might incur on
the part of the administrators if they were particularly underpaid.
With regard to the wages of judges and officials, Abù-Yùsuf empha-
sised that they should be paid from the central Treasury, Bait-al-
Màl. This, in his view, would guarantee that the services rendered
would not be restricted to the revenue collected from the region and,
therefore, all, the rich and the poor regions, would get the required
services. He further emphasised that public servants should not be
paid from the revenue of Zakàh, unless the officials were working
exclusively for the collection of Zakàh, whose share in this case is
specified in the sacred book as one-eighth. Private services provided
by these judges, such as management of trust funds or legacies, may
be paid privately by those benefiting from the service, but judges
should not overcharge their agents lest the legacy should be eroded
in the long run. It is interesting to note that Abù-Yùsuf ’s view coin-
cides with an important point in the concept of fairness in taxation.
Fairness, as has been established in tax literature, is not to be per-
ceived as being based on the benefit approach. The benefit approach
to taxation suggests that the tax should be collected from the tax
payers in line with the benefits they receive from public services. To
Abù-Yùsuf, the state has a responsibility to provide the services