Pawan Verma
Dear Pranab Da,
As you were reading out the pages of your budget speech in the Parliament last week, with me and my family members listening in rapt attention, a strange sense of enlightenment was dawning upon all of us. Till this moment I was thinking that I was a free individual with all my rights and liberty in place, my family felt that I belonged to them entirely, while my wife believed that she owned me absolutely. However, listening to your budget speech made it absolutely clear that with the Income Tax and the Service Tax put together, at least 42.9% of me was absolutely owned by the Govt. of India. Since I was obliged to pay a good part of my earnings to the GOI, by implication the GOI had absolute right over my working life and thus, I was nothing more than a bonded labour of the Govt. of India.
As you moved from the Income Tax provisions to the Service Tax, there was a greater enlightenment. The fact that you raised Service Tax from 10% to 12% and widened its scope, without giving any reason whatsoever, brought home one of the basic realities of our existence - the fact the you had absolute right over our earnings and that the Right to Property, enshrined in our constitution as a Fundamental Right, arose only after you had taken your share out of the same. In fact, we are so grateful to you, Sir, for your kindness that whatever the Aam Aadmi earns today, a small portion of the same is left to him for his subsistence. And this kindness has continued year-after-year.
In the face of the fact that you have complete control over our destiny, I admire the sincerity and modesty with which you have been putting forth your taxation proposals before the nation in successive years. In fact, we should be grateful to you that through your tax proposals you provide the citizens of this country, an ideal opportunity of earn for the government even without passing the Civil Services exams. Come to think of it, very few of us have the wisdom to realize that taxation today is the greatest symbol of the democratic and patriotic fibre of our society, wedded to the fundamental principles of equal rights and equal opportunities. Democratic, because any individual, no matter how humble his circumstances, can rise up in life, prevail over his circumstances and become a tax-payer. Patriotic, because for most of us, who remain too busy with our mundane day-to-day activities, taxation provides an ideal opportunity to do something for the nation.
That’s not all. The wise among us do tell us that taxation also provides a great tool for ensuring social justice by allowing those who work, to pay for those who don’t and those who can earn to pay for those who can’t. It doesn’t matter if every Taj Mahal looks like the Qutab Minar after paying the taxes – it is intended to be so for the cause of social justice. In fact, next to death, if there is any leveller, it is taxation alone– the only difference being that death doesn’t kill in instalments and that it does not become more painful every time Parliament meets.
Hence, it is my humble request to you, Sir, not to get influenced by the small minority among us, who do not have any mamta for your budget proposals for levying increasing taxes on the aam aadmi year-after-year. I can assure you that the great majority of us love paying our taxes and thereby, contributing to the nation and its democratic and egalitarian values.
Therefore, having gone through your budget proposals, I have a few suggestions to offer in order to improve our taxation system and ensure compliance by the aam aadmi without feeling any financial burden.
First, I suggest that it should be made compulsory for every married couple to have at least three children. On growing up, while the two of them can pay the taxes, the third can support the family’s livelihood. You may kindly examine if this would need a constitutional amendment or it can be accomplished through a side reference in the budget proposals like the Vodafone case. I do believe that the second one is a much better option.
Secondly, with the expansion of the Service Tax net you have so generously ensured that we do not miss out any opportunity to pay the taxes and thereby serve our nation. However, there is one important area that needs immediate clarification, i.e. supply of labour and manpower services. You will kindly agree that every child born in the country adds to the nation’s labour force, since he has the potential that on growing up, he can become a tax-payer and thereby earn for the government. This area of manpower supply to the country’s labour force has so far remained untaxed.
Hence, most humbly, may I suggest imposition of a new service tax, particularly named as the Valentine Tax, whereby every married couple, who make love to each other, should be taxed? The incidence of taxation will arise every time the couple is blessed with a child.
I am sure, dear Finance Minister, this will have multiple benefits. First, the very idea of imposing a Valentine Tax will increase your support base among Ram Sene, VHP and the likes of them. Secondly, no man worth his honour, will ever dispute the tax or evade paying the same on the plea that it was not his doing.
Sincerely yours
Pawan Verma
Pawan.verma@rediffmail.com
