     
|
|
 |
|
Few questions to ponder ????
6th Oct 1999 Manish Jain @impetus.co.in
Hello innmates,
I would like to know what u people thnk on these issues.
1. How much is the Indian government justified in imposing "Kargil Tax"
on salaried class, who are already paying taxes,rather than improving its
collection of taxes from tax -evaders ?
I do agree that government is in need of money after the costly
exercise that it had to indulge in . But would it not be right on
the part of government to improve its tax collection mechanism .
Many businesspeople and shop owners have been evading tax for a long
time. Salaried class has to any way pay its tax and if it is burdened
with more and it will be forced to pay that too.
So why only me and u ?
2. BJP government,a day after elections are over , has now increased the
diesel prices by 40 % after the oil pool deficit has increased to Rs 5,200
crore in the past 6 months. This steep rise in diesel prices will fuel a
rise in inflation , which the BJP government claimed to be at its lowest
just before elections. Keeping the diesel prices down to keep inflation
artificially down for six months ........................?????? Is this
not an act of crime in regards to Indian economy and an act of fooling
the Indian voters?
Your comments are invited on this .
Manish
6th Oct 1999
Drupad Kanakia @bom7.vsnl.net.in
Manish, 1. the kargil affair was an extremely expensive one with the cash = strapped government not being able to allocate resources .and u forget = that the war was fought essentially to protect you and me and so we have = to pay for it. it is the least we can do for our country. as for direct taxation's...let me assure you that corporate and business = taxes are extremely steep and unjustified as compared to personal direct = taxes so I would find to fault with a businessman like myself trying to evade = taxes which come up to half-my hard earned money as for personal taxation...yes it is my duty to pay them and I do 2. we live in a connected world and post-liberalisation world prices = affect us more than ever. do you think that the government should reduce diesel prices even if = international prices have risen by 60%....who do you think will pay for = it? we who use it. on such nationally important questions....instead of = blaming the government outright...you ponder over why the action is = taken PS: do you know that in America and all over Europe diesel and petrol = prices are nearly the same....but it is in our country that they are = needlessly subsidised by the government
6th Oct 1999
Naresh K Gupta @vsnl.com
Dear Manish, I fully agree with you. 1. The govt. should have the guts to take the tax from the tax evaders = rather than taking more tax from the existing tax payers because tax = evaders are more in number than the tax payers today. 2. Regarding oil, if the government could save oil used in the = government vehicles by its officials for unofficial use, I think we = would need less oil and hence there will be less deficit. Regards, Naresh
7th Oct 1999
V S Murthy @cmcltd.com
I feel a time has come for any government to be pragmatic in econonic policies and take early action even if it means politically not very advisable(popularity point of view).Such steps which cause minimum inconvenience to the majority should be adopted right away.Vote bank economics will only be postponing the D-day. This has to be impressed upon the public.Public should see perceptible development around them.Unnecessary govt expenditure has to be drastically cut.India cannot afford too much of wastage in terms of avoidable expenses for politicians and officials. REgards
7th Oct 1999
Manish Jain @impetus.co.in
Hello Drupad,
1. When u say that Kargil was extremely expensive affair. ,I do
agree with you. when you say that it was fought for me and you, I do agree
with you even on that account.
I also agree when you say that it is me and you who will have
to pay for not.
But the point that I was trying to stress in my first mail was that when
ever new taxes are imposed , it is mostly the salaried class that has to
suffer. Why I say so --- because in general it is very difficult or I must
say impossible for salaried class to evade tax. But I have seen most of
the business people and shop owners ( from ones having small general
stores to big market owners evading taxes-- if not then why do the shop
owners avoid gives proper cash memos . ) Buts lets not debate on this.
The debate should be on this --- Dont u think there many tax
evaders ( probably more in number than tax givers ) in this
country ? If yes, then dont you think that it would be better
on part of government to recover taxes from them instead of
imposing new taxes ?
2. This one I suppose you got it all wrong. In my first mail ,I never
said government should reduce the diesel prices when they are increasing
the world over. As against this, I was and still am, of the view that when
the prices of diesel had increased around the world 6-8 months ago,
Indian government should have increased the prices then. Th prices should
never be subsidized . What I am blaming the government for is that for its
personal interests ( to win this election ) , it kept the prices of diesel
artificially down for 6-8 months .This has resulted in additional oil pool
deficit of 5400 crore. What I am blaming the government for is that by
artificial manipulation of diesel prices, it artificially kept the
inflation down ( claimed to be at its lowest in past several years). Now
what happens to inflation ? Wont it raise steeply ? Has it not made the
fool of Indian voters who might have voted for the current government
measured its performance in economic sector by looking at inflation ? If
in next the budget, more taxes are imposed to cover this deficit , then
who is to be blamed ? If the all governments keep doing this ,then do u
think that it is ever possible to have a surplus budget in India ?
Ur comments are invited.
Manish Jain
----------------Original Message----------------
>1. ...................t being able to allocate resources .and u forget
>....it is the least we can do for our country. as for direct
>taxation's...let me assure you that corpor.......
>2............. you think that the government should reduce diesel
>.............................isen by 60%....who do you think will pay for
>= it? .............in America and all over Europe
>dies..............................
8th Oct 1999
Kumar Nair @giascl01.vsnl.net.in
What did you expect ???. They are all the same. What really galled me is the use of the word "INCUMBANCY FACTOR". The word should be "INCOMPETENCE FACTOR" Kumar nair
8th Oct 1999
Ankit Gaur @usa.net
This is an interesting topic.The point that Kargil was a costly affair is right ,but havent we already paid for it through the taxes that we pay? Also if the taxes we paid had been used for intelligence we need not have had the Kargil affair. Ankit
10th Oct 1999
yang @vsnl.com
Dear Manish, I can only contribute my two-bit. Hope it makes sense. Manish Jain wrote: > 1. How much is the Indian government justified in imposing "Kargil > Tax" on salaried class, who are already paying taxes,rather than > improving its collection of taxesfrom tax -evaders ? First of all, I am not too fond of the word "tax-evaders". In developed countries, it is indeed a filthy word. Tax-payers are a proud lot and demand their rights. But in India, people take pride in evading tax. How often have we seen American movies where the common citizen says "You can't do this to me, I am a tax-payer. I have my rights!" In India, much as I am saddened to say, you Indians (including the author of this insane posting) are a worthless lot. You (general you, not you you!) rant and rave about nothing being done about the country and hate to pay taxes so that you can save for our own little flat. Needless to say, for the economy of a country, tax is imperative. Who pays is always a big question. Or should it be like Micheal Jackson says in his "the man in the mirror". You are also short termed. You don't see that the country needs your money to be rich. If I have enough to sustain myself, then I can take on a help in the house. If I have more money, I can taken on a sophisticated help. Same with the country. Oh! for crying out loud, JFK said "ask not what your country ..." > I do agree that government is in need of money after the costly > exercise that it had to indulge in . But would it not be right on the > part of government to improve its tax collection mechanism . You are absolutely right. What is the solution? (vide infra). > Many businesspeople and shop owners have been evading tax for a long > time. Salaried class has to any way pay its tax and if it is burdened > with more and it will be forced to pay that too. So why only me and > u ? You are absolutely right again. Just because it is easier to track the salaried class does not mean that they keep putting the pressure on them. Given how busy we all are (or at least we like to think we are), I wonder if the following can be one of the solutions (something I have been sort of implementing myself) : I count the number of people that I meet each day, starting the maid-servant and the paan-wallah from whom I buy cigarettes - to my clients and friends, and talk to them about the state of the country. I hope to educate them - to think. After all, when you have repeated elections, who is the one who say "I didn't vote because I don't believe in the system anymore". Or "Give me a good leader and a party and I will vote for them". It is the educated and salaried class more often than nought. You may have a valid point or excuse in these statements. But you have taken from the system. You must in turn impart education to the lesser-privileged class in India. Who are the ones actually building your nation directly? Most definitely not you or I. The education must not consist of who they should vote for, but general issues for them - to think, to know, to understand. In a way, you should merely be reporters not opinionators. You should intimate people of their rights. You have to stimulate their minds to think. You have to impart education, not literacy. Socrates and Jesus may have been illiterate. But by God, dare we call them uneducated??!! Out of this chaos of thought, can we find order. Once leaders and Governments are elected "wisely", there will most definitely be a consensus (oops, a BJP trademark) in tackling all issues, including widening the tax net and inculcating a sense of pride in being a tax-payer. Given the system of nation-governance we have chosen, I sometimes feel we must have a further spate of litigation regarding the Indian's rights (I am most definitely not saying this because I am a lawyer. :-) For your information, I am not a litigation lawyer, but a prospective one and who steers you away from litigation) and all these litigation must be published widely. Rather than report on newsy items, a section of the front pages must be devoted to reporting on how the rights of a citizen were restored or interpreted. Why it is not a bad idea to litigate. How many times have we heard "that is unfair!". How many times have those yelling "foul" fought to make it fair? The common citizen is has to be made aware of his rights. In earlier postings (vide "Eyes Wide Shut") on this and other mailing lists, I noticed lots of comments about how the world have viewed Hindus as a passive and "highly" tolerant lot. I personally believe that the Hindu philosophy has always preached that direct aggression is not the solution. It should be passive and subtle aggression. But somewhere down the timeline, Hindus - to be more widely interpreted as Indians in this context - have lost the latter. They have preferred to chose the path of least resistance and not do anything except grumble and gripe. It is our turn as the educated and literate class to keep our ideas focussed online and do the imparting bit offline. > 2. BJP government,a day after elections are over , has now increased > the diesel prices by 40 % after the oil pool deficit has increased to > Rs 5,200 crore in the past 6 months. This steep rise in diesel prices > will fuel a rise in inflation , which the BJP government claimed to be > at its lowest just before elections. Keeping the diesel prices down to > keep inflation artificially down for six months > ........................??????Is this not an act of crime in regards > to Indian economy and an act of fooling the Indian voters? There is no act of crime. There is no wrong in any general sense, merely incorrectness. 'Wrong' is a subjective term and 'incorrect' is a generic term. All is fair in war and politics. All in the name of the nation. The leader's chair is one that belongs to Damocles. You nor I would want to have our security threatened by the horse's hair. To keep voters happy, to remain focussed, to have vision, to remain unhypocritical, to keep promises, to build reputation, to keep everyone happy, to treat everyone equally, to be a good manager, to be a good judge. We are already witness to the great change that is India. A one billion-something strong population. Imagine a nation where the entire population is aware of their rights and acts wisely. Would they not be aware of the obligations that come with it and act accordingly? And what would India be then??? And on a random thought. I think only taxpayers should be allowed to vote. > Your comments are invited on this . Manish errr... I don't think you want to repeat that to me again ;-) -- (Whew!) Best regards, Yang Yen-Thaw from New Delhi feeling like a preacher. *********************************************************************** YANG advocates & solicitors *********************************************************************** International business transactions, infrastructure and intellectual property (India related) Telephone +91-11-686-3103, TeleFax +91-11-696-3703 Main Office - New Delhi. Other Offices - Bangalore, Hyderabad. ***********************************************************************
