Responsa for Bava Batra 198:7
תקיף לה רב פפא ולימא ליה מייך אשפלוה לארעיך אלא אמר רב פפא שעל מנת כן קבל עליו בעל השדה:
Who [has the right of] sowing these banks? — Rab Judah said in the name of Samuel: The owner of the field [is entitled] to sow them. R. Nahman said in the name of Samuel: The owner of the field [is entitled to] plant them. He who said, 'sow them', [agrees]. even more so, [that] he may plant them;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Plants do not damage the sides of the canal, their roots going deep down into the ground. ');"><sup>12</sup></span> but he who said, 'plant them', [holds the opinion that] he must not, however, sow them, [because] they penetrate<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And the consequent falling of earth causes damage to the structure or spoils the water. ');"><sup>13</sup></span>
Teshuvot Maharam
A. The decisions on questions of taxation are dependent more on custom than on talmudic law. The following rule is generally accepted by the communities: In any tax dispute between an individual and the community, the latter first collects the tax and then goes to court. Therefore, even before the tax is collected, the community is considered to be in possession of the tax-money, and the burden of proof falls upon the individual. This is not only an accepted custom, but also good talmudic law, and is operative even in a new community where there are no established customs. But if the community in question has a different custom, that custom prevails, though it be at variance with talmudic law.
This Responsum is addressed to R. Eliakim ha-Kohen.
SOURCES: Pr. 106; Mord. B. B. 522; cf. also Cr. 49; Pr. 708, 915; L. 371; Am II, 130. Agudah B.M. 108; Moses Minz, Responsa 72; Terumat Hadeshen 341.