Taxes...Not as inevitable?

Dear Mr. Chidambaram,

I read this article in the Hindu today (What on earth!). While it seems like a fluff piece without any concrete news (WHAT is happening to the Hindu?!?!?!), I would like to think that they are yet to sink to the levels of attributing soundbites to ministers without any basis.

So, it is safe to say that this piece surprised me. Did you just say MORE taxes? Why, yes you did! Why? Because Warren Buffett and an undisclosed number of European millionaires said so! That makes total sense, right? RIGHT??

Well. No. Let me be the spoilsport and explain why.

Today, I have to pay a third of my earnings to the government so that I can "enjoy" pot-holed roads, unsafe drinking water and inadequate healthcare infrastructure. To tax us further is illogical and down right criminal. Not that the illegality of it would trouble your conscience.....

You insist that this is the way forward to fund inclusive growth, which will be measured by GDP and Per capita income. Those are PRECISELY the kind of metrics that are used to hide the fact that India's growth is anything but inclusive.

And you say, that you MUST tax the rich. Who are the "Rich"? Are they the corporate behemoths who are enjoying tax breaks? Good luck getting us to believe that you will ever tax them. Between their lobbies and political cronies, they can hold off paying taxes for the foreseeable future. Which leaves us the few HNIs, who don't run screaming from taxes, and people like me, the salaried class.

You will increase the taxes on the few who choose to stay in the system and play by the rules. Because it is convenient. But you fail to understand that all you are really doing is disincentivizing us to play "nice".

How about if you thought like a smart man instead of a consummate vote-bank/ power obsessed politician? What if you thought logically about this situation? What if you targeted the wealthy who successfully fly under the radar year after year?

You routinely see these people. You know the type. Wealthy businessmen who have bungalows in the poshest suburbs. People who gift BMWs and Mercs to their irresponsible 18 year old brats. The people who pay in cash at diamond showrooms and five star hotels. The same people who declare a small fraction of their income and pay a pittance in tax while stashing the bulk of their moolah off-shore.

Those people. How about focusing on bringing them under the tax net? How about monitoring their income? How about monitoring transactions OUTSIDE banks? How about fixing the system so that there aren't loopholes the size of the Himalayas that help people evade taxes?

How about taxing the corporations that are minting money while claiming tax breaks and benefits? They compulsorily use public resources like roads, electricity and sanitation. But they never can manage to pay the government, and indirectly, society,  back for these amenities.

It is easy to tax the taxed further. But our backs will break at some point in the future. Don't take the shortcut on this one just because it is convenient and quick. For once, do what must be done to regulate the flow of money in this country so that the burden of funding public works, amenities and services is borne equitably and fairly.

So, Hon. Minister, you can take cues on our taxation from Europe, when we function like a European economy. That day is still far off. And we will never get there unless the educated people in power, such as yourself, take a cold hard look at the system, and do what must be done to fix it.

Sincerely,
A Taxpayer