Quit-rent
Encyclopedia
Quit rent , Quit-rent, or quitrent, in practically all cases, is now effectively but not formally a tax
or land tax imposed on freehold
or lease
d land by a higher landowning authority, usually a government
or its assigns.
Under feudal law, the payment of quit rent freed the tenant
of a holding from the obligation to perform such other services as were obligatory under feudal tenure, or freed the occupier of the land from the burden of having others use their own distinct rights that affected the land (e.g., hunting rights which would have impaired farming). As such, it was a rental of distinct things that were not parcelled up in the ownership of the land itself, although connected with the full enjoyment of the land, and formally it was a sort of buy back rather than a tax. Where a true tax can be varied by the taxer, and must be paid on pain of penalties that can be varied by the taxer without formal limit, the only sanction for not paying a feudal quit rent was that the alternative burdens would return - which imposed a ceiling on how much could be demanded in payment of a quit rent in practice. Where the sanctions for non-compliance are limited in this way, a quit rent is a rent in fact as well as in form and name, and not a tax; where they are not so limited, a quit rent is not a rent in fact but only in form and name, being rather a tax in fact. The latter is the usual case today, as the former was in earlier times.
In post-feudal times, quit rents have continued to be imposed by some governments, usually attached to land grants as a form of land tax.
The quit rent system was used frequently by colonial
governments in the British Empire
. Many land grants in colonial America
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries carried quit rent. Quit rents went on to be used in British colonies
, protectorate
s, etc. in Asia
and elsewhere in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Examples:
Some governments have now abolished the quit rent system and relieved those with a nominal quit rent obligation from the requirement to pay it, replacing quit rents with a uniform system of land tax. However, in other countries, such as Malaysia, quit rent remains an important means of raising revenue from landowners.
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
or land tax imposed on freehold
Fee simple
In English law, a fee simple is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. It is the most common way that real estate is owned in common law countries, and is ordinarily the most complete ownership interest that can be had in real property short of allodial title, which is often reserved...
or lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
d land by a higher landowning authority, usually a government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
or its assigns.
Under feudal law, the payment of quit rent freed the tenant
Tenant farmer
A tenant farmer is one who resides on and farms land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management; while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying...
of a holding from the obligation to perform such other services as were obligatory under feudal tenure, or freed the occupier of the land from the burden of having others use their own distinct rights that affected the land (e.g., hunting rights which would have impaired farming). As such, it was a rental of distinct things that were not parcelled up in the ownership of the land itself, although connected with the full enjoyment of the land, and formally it was a sort of buy back rather than a tax. Where a true tax can be varied by the taxer, and must be paid on pain of penalties that can be varied by the taxer without formal limit, the only sanction for not paying a feudal quit rent was that the alternative burdens would return - which imposed a ceiling on how much could be demanded in payment of a quit rent in practice. Where the sanctions for non-compliance are limited in this way, a quit rent is a rent in fact as well as in form and name, and not a tax; where they are not so limited, a quit rent is not a rent in fact but only in form and name, being rather a tax in fact. The latter is the usual case today, as the former was in earlier times.
In post-feudal times, quit rents have continued to be imposed by some governments, usually attached to land grants as a form of land tax.
The quit rent system was used frequently by colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
governments in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Many land grants in colonial America
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries carried quit rent. Quit rents went on to be used in British colonies
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
, protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
s, etc. in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and elsewhere in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Examples:
- In Borneo, the Proclamation IX of 1902 became a legal requirement for natives who claimed to own cultivated lands to take out separate land titles for themselves, charged at $2.00 per title with owners made to pay annual quit rent.
Some governments have now abolished the quit rent system and relieved those with a nominal quit rent obligation from the requirement to pay it, replacing quit rents with a uniform system of land tax. However, in other countries, such as Malaysia, quit rent remains an important means of raising revenue from landowners.