Tax! For what?

My parents pay tax! My friends pay tax! In my opinion, any responsible citizen of our country should pay tax. But in reality, only a handful, follow the norm. Are they wrong on their part? Aren't they proud of our nation? Are they being a bad advertisement for the welfare of the society? 

Before I answer these questions, we should first understand why do we pay taxes? The answer is pretty simple. It's for us only that we pay the taxes. Whatever money we pay in the form of various taxes, comes back to us in various forms - infrastructure (roads, flyovers, stadiums etc.), various schemes for the welfare of society, subsidies etc.

We pay taxes only to be benefited. But is it really happening? For a common man, it is not! Every now and then, we read, hear and speak about various scams. The word "Scam" has become a household name now. The CWG scam, the S-band scam, the Coal block scam, the housing scam, the PDS scam etc the list is too long. As tax payers, it hurts when we come to know that the money which should have been spent on us, the money that we earned after putting in our blood and sweat, actually went in the pockets of the corrupt. It makes us feel angry and acts as a deterrent to our willingness (if any left) to pay the exchequer. 

In my opinion, corruption is the biggest deterrent to the taxpayers' willingness to pay tax. According to some reports earlier this year, both the direct as well as indirect collection figures have seen a downfall. Government missed the targets for tax collections and this had some serious impact on the already dismal current account deficit numbers.

Also, the taxes an Indian pays, are quite high as compared to many other nations.

The Tax slabs speak for themselves:

India Income tax slabs 2012-2013 for General tax payers

Income tax slab (in Rs.)	Tax
0 to 2,00,000	No tax
2,00,001 to 5,00,000	10%
5,00,001 to 10,00,000	20%
Above 10,00,000	30%

India Income tax slabs 2012-2013 for Female tax payers

Income tax slab (in Rs.)	Tax
0 to 2,00,000	No tax
2,00,001 to 5,00,000	10%
5,00,001 to 10,00,000	20%
Above 10,00,000	30%

India Income tax slabs 2012-2013 for Senior citizens (Aged 60 years but less than 80 years)

Income tax slab (in Rs.)	Tax
0 to 2,50,000	No tax
2,50,001 to 5,00,000	10%
5,00,001 to 10,00,000	20%
Above 10,00,000	30%

India Income tax slabs 2012-2013 for very senior citizens (Aged 80 and above)

Income tax slab (in Rs.)	Tax
0 to 5,00,000	No tax
5,00,001 to 10,00,000	20%
Above 10,00,000

Already, the collection targets have been revised for the current fiscal. Government says that it hopes for a turnaround this year. They may be going for various schemes for early returns, they may try to attract taxpayers with certain discounts but in the long run, all these measures will fall short.

If we are really serious about the present situation then we need to hit the nail on its head. But at present the government doesn't seem to be bothered about the scenario. Had they been really serious, then we would have already seen some serious anti graft measures. The Lokpal bill would have received some serious thoughts and there would have been some serious discussions in the parliament. But can we expect this from our politicians who themselves are under fire? From Raja Bhaiya to P Chidambaram, no one seems to be clean. 

Today, there seems to be absolutely no confusion for what the government is asking for the taxes or where the hard earned money of the taxpayer go. Isn't it the case?

One should not expect too much but too less is simply unacceptable. Change won't happen in a single night, it will take time but looking at the present scenario, it seems as if we might have to wait for another 60 years before we will be able to enjoy freedom from our not so respected and tainted politicians. 

I may be sounding a bit pessimistic but unfortunately that's the truth. One could only hope for a turnaround but not an immediate one. Always remember, "Slow and steady wins the race", the problem is that we have been too slow and have never been steady in our approach. As a result, we have reached a point that could have been avoidable had we shown a bit of urgency and seriousness. But thankfully it’s neve too late! Jai Hind.