Zakaah on people’s wealth that is being held by the government
Question

                It is well known that the storehouses receive the crops of wheat and barley every year, then the people in charge pay the zakaah on it and give the farmers the value of their crops.  But this money stays with the storehouse for a number of years. Is zakaah due on it for one year or for all the past years?.
Praise be to Allah.
    No zakaah is due on that which is with the government whether 
    it is the value of crops or wages or anything else, until one takes 
    possession of it. When you take possession of it, then pay zakaah for one 
    year; even if it stays with the state for five or ten years or more; pay 
    zakaah for just one year, because the fact that the government kept it 
    indicates that there were circumstances that were beyond the creditor’s 
    control.