I read somewhere that only 7% Indian are falling into the income tax bracket! It means, the burden of the country is shared by this small section of people!! Initially I thought this might not be true. But after a closer look and deeper thought, now I feel 7% could be an inflated figure. How I did this? The same old “eliminatory method” – let us see who all does not pay Tax at all or pay it marginally –
The section below Poverty Line – it is definite and obvious – the current figure is 30%
The farmers – however rich one of them may be – does it not look funny and flawed?
Small and Medium size Business house – most of them have some dubious accounting techniques, which indicate LOSS (or marginal profit) at the end of each financial year. In how many occasions a Pharmacy or your local grocer gives you a proper bill?
Politicians – all of them have very low income (most of it is Perks and ….)
Any one with income below the exempted limit – understandable - % of population figure is anybody’s guess
Any one who does not have any income – small kids, housewives, and elderly persons – in an average Indian family one out of five may be the income generator
So how much we are left with? My Math has always been weak …
So who are these Taxpayers – with most certainty, it is the salaried, 9 to 5 group – typically the “middle class” of the economy. My definition of ‘middle class” – a section of population which can never meet there demand / desire with the income they generate
Now comes the hammer – after paying a big percentage of their income as Tax at the source, this, already “taxed”, section pays more tax and surcharges in their life. For every purchase of household items, petroleum product, white goods, electronic items, restaurant visit etc., tax comes into play. It seems, government is more interested in milking this cow rather than capturing some more cows in their net! I can imagine that the effort required to capture these "wild" cows will be high. But have a feeling that it could be rewarding.
Don’t you think, with the help of the PAN, this tax paying section should get some rebate in taxes and surcharges? Unless someone thinks about widening of the bracket, this middle class will soon get crushed in the middle. After all “Tax” is a word with negative connotation.
And where this collected money goes – it is another story. We will discuss soon..
The section below Poverty Line – it is definite and obvious – the current figure is 30%
The farmers – however rich one of them may be – does it not look funny and flawed?
Small and Medium size Business house – most of them have some dubious accounting techniques, which indicate LOSS (or marginal profit) at the end of each financial year. In how many occasions a Pharmacy or your local grocer gives you a proper bill?
Politicians – all of them have very low income (most of it is Perks and ….)
Any one with income below the exempted limit – understandable - % of population figure is anybody’s guess
Any one who does not have any income – small kids, housewives, and elderly persons – in an average Indian family one out of five may be the income generator
So how much we are left with? My Math has always been weak …
So who are these Taxpayers – with most certainty, it is the salaried, 9 to 5 group – typically the “middle class” of the economy. My definition of ‘middle class” – a section of population which can never meet there demand / desire with the income they generate
Now comes the hammer – after paying a big percentage of their income as Tax at the source, this, already “taxed”, section pays more tax and surcharges in their life. For every purchase of household items, petroleum product, white goods, electronic items, restaurant visit etc., tax comes into play. It seems, government is more interested in milking this cow rather than capturing some more cows in their net! I can imagine that the effort required to capture these "wild" cows will be high. But have a feeling that it could be rewarding.
Don’t you think, with the help of the PAN, this tax paying section should get some rebate in taxes and surcharges? Unless someone thinks about widening of the bracket, this middle class will soon get crushed in the middle. After all “Tax” is a word with negative connotation.
And where this collected money goes – it is another story. We will discuss soon..
