thanks for the reply, but is this jizya on top of the tax they pay for their work or is it the only pay? secondly, zakat is paid by the muslims only if they are better off and have money, if they dont have money then they pay nothing(if i am right), but in case of non muslims they have to pay jizya no matter what, is it the case?
Zakaat is obligatory to all Muslims that are not
poor. This differs from country to country. In Dubai, for example, almost everyone must pay Zakaat so much so that there is nobody to recieve Zakaat inside UAE- this is why most Zakaat money is sent to places like Palestine, Pakistan (esp. due to floods), etc.
Your second question is quite an interesting one, because I remember reading about it exactly. It was about Umar, one of the Khalifas of Islamic Empire (you will know about him) who met an old Jewish man who came down to begging because he had to pay his tax.
According to Muslim accounts of Umar, in his time some payers of the jizya were compensated if they had not been cared for properly. The accounts vary, but describe his meeting an old Jew begging, and assisting him; according to one version:
Umar said to him, "Old man! We have not done justice to you. In your youth we realized Jizyah from you and have left you to fend for yourself in your old age". Holding him by the hand, he led him to his own house, and preparing food with his own hands fed him and issued orders to the treasurer of the Bait-al-mal that that old man and all others like him, should be regularly doled out a daily allowance which should suffice for them and their dependents.[16]
At the start of the Islamic Empire (during Prophet Muhammad's time), there was a assistance system; the money came from Zakaat tax. Non-Muslims were eligible for this zakaat. If Jizya is unfair on anyone, it would be the Muslims. We are, after all, required to pay higher taxes, and protect those that paid Jizya. Still, we never complain, because that is what Allah has ordered us to do.
secondly, what is the room for amendment of this ruling? this ruling was centries ago and i dont see how it will fit in today's world.
I am definitely sure this taxation system works because, well, I see nothing wrong with it. It will require organization, for sure, and you cannot expect it to work in a corrupt government (but no tax system works there anyway). Right now we don't really have an example because even Saudi Arabia is not following Sharia.