For a wider tax net
Apropos of the edit “Widen the tax base” (December 4), it is not possible unless all kirana stores, local shops, many businessmen and shop-owners in India start paying taxes like salaried classes, in all earnest. The tax collection has so far been limited to the salaried class and the businesses above a certain threshold. According to the report released by Union finance ministry, less than 3 people in 100 pay taxes. The estimated number of taxpayers for financial year 2011-12 stands at just 3.24 crore people. Out of these 3.24 crore people, 89% are in the tax bracket of those with an annual income of upto 5 lakh rupees, while, at the other end of spectrum, only 1.3% of all tax payers have income above R20 lakh per annum. These figures do not explain how people are able to maintain sybaritic lifestyles and afford house which cost a few crore rupees. Scrutiny of electricity bills will show that those who pay monthly bill R10,000 and above are not paying any taxes and detecting such evaders is very easy but tax authorities are not at all bothered about widening tax base.
MM Gurbaxani
Bangalore
Janata merger
The decision of the Samajwadi Party, the Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Indian National Lok Dal to come together and form a single party—Samajwadi Janata Party —is welcome for the simple reason that it will be far better than the BJP and the Congress with its secular and pro-poor credentials. The proposed merger of these socialist and secular parties has become a ‘historical necessity’ in the current political circumstances with BJP struggling to bring about any change and usher in “acche din” and the Congress struggling to stage a comeback in vain. By representing Dalits, tribals, OBCs and the working class, the Janata Parivar can provide a viable alternative to the BJP and the Congress. Its mass base is bound to grow when BJP’s fortunes hit rock bottom sooner rather than later due to its inability to fulfill the promises it made before elections. A strong political force is a must to fight BJP’s pro-corporate economic policies and its insidious communal agenda. True, the Janata Parivar could no survive for long as cohesive unit in the past. But it does not mean that it will again disintegrate due to infighting. The “social justice” it brought into the hierarchical society to benefit the lower classes cannot be forgotten. The ‘experiment’ cannot be written off before it is tried. If BJP is communal and pro-super-rich and Congress is secular and pro-super-rich, the Janata Parivar is secular and pro-poor.
G David Milton, Maruthancode, TN