TAXES OR AXES?
In the dynamic world the people of every democratic country are facing the problems of taxes. These taxes are different kinds.
Every govt. assure that these taxes are using for the well being of the people of this country. Every newly elected govt. started taxing more and more from the people in different way and different names, viz. Sales Tax, Income Tax, Central Sales Tax, Excise Duty, Stamp Duty, Property Tax, Value Added Tax, Service Tax, Education Cess, Toll Tax, Assessment Tax, Entertainment Tax, Wealth Tax, Gift Tax, Road Tax, Octroi, etc.etc and many other Licence-Permit-Inspector-Quota raj.
When we became independent the common people are the big looser because of the imposition of various taxes. A layman cannot survive due to burden of taxes.
Three basic points which can help us what is the real fact behind these taxes:-
1) Right of govt. is to declare and collect the taxes in the name of welfare of the citizen.
2) Misuse of tax money.
3) Destruction of people.
1) Right of the government to declare and collect various taxes:
The tax system at a minimum level started from British raj when they formed East India Company. Henceforth, it never stopped even after our independence. Every elected govt. competing each other to collect more taxes in various names like levy, cess, duties and taxes, toll, etc. and create more deficit; thus burdening more and more to impose new form of taxes. In a corporate led democracy, the poor getting poorer and super rich getting richer. Thus making a common people getting in-dependence to the govt. and we are put to a new form of slavory.
When a person buy a motor vehicle, he should pay sales tax, excise duty, income tax, and vehicle tax and other taxes. When he wanted to run the vehicle on the road, next he is paying road taxes. Then he should take Vehicle insurance to run the vehicle on the road. After all if a vehicle cross the toll naka, he has to pay toll tax. Govt. is making bridges to collect money from the public in the name of development. It mainly benefit the contractors who build and operate the bridges. Even after earning good sum, within a short span of time, the toll charges again raised drastically and putting more axe on the citizen.
Why not the govt. not considering for charging only one tax instead of various layer of taxes and duties for a new vehicle/ product from the manufacturers itself instead of collecting them from the citizen.
Today democracy means putting more taxes and burden on its people. If this trend continues, in future the govt. may pass a bill in parliament/ legislative assembly take toll tax for walking through the flyover/road.
When a king was ruling our country, people were never burdened with taxes and divisions. Even if the king is a dictator, it rarely affect the ordinary people in their day to day life. Even in pre-independence of British raj, their interference in public affairs, was very limited. Bureaucracy was very small in number and taxes and layers was very less and tax paying citizen are better treated, and there was no wrongful confinement in the name of law. At the time of King rule, not even the British raj there was of course no road tax. Its opposite happening when we become fully democracy .
One more fascinating fact one need to notice is :-
1) Every flyover/ road need repair even after one rain. Earlier it was a maintenance free. Many of the well conditioned road is dugged up like ponds in the middle of the road and it further ruining the condition of the road by the utility services and due to poor quality of material used in building road.
2) Britishers used to make bridges from their own expenses without additionally taxing its citizen and still many of the bridges and buildings stands sturdy and it will survive many more decades.
3) At present the flyovers and roads are made at the cost of tax payers and making huge profit on it. Even then, quality of construction and its survival for a long years is still a question mark. Many roads/ flyovers need constant maintenance and many of them should be reconstructed and need rebuilding.
4) Again and again new bridges are required in place of old bridges and this process is recycled. In this process, Investor- contractor-bureaucratic-political nexus only benefited. We are again and again burdened with many more taxes.
Even after paying taxes and pleasing the govt. we have lost our freedom of expression. One cannot write and express the truth in the democratic India. Our patriotism is suspected if we show the defects of the system. Can the leadership take corrective steps to show that ours is a functioning parliamentary democracy? We need a govt. who cares its people without giving much tax burden/ political burden on its people. Is it going to happen. In a democracy, after all, we cannot lose our hope. Lets all hope and hope in the years to come.