Taxing Matters

Today I read a article about the list of top tax payers in the country. It was intriguing to see who were among the top taxpayer as well as who weren't. Mayawati was in the list. As usual some top actors and cricketers were there as were many industrialists. Scamster Telgi was there too, though i don't know if he is in prison or not!! The big surprise is Ambani brothers do not figure in the top 200 tax payer list, while their mother does. I don't know the authenticity of the article, but i was left wondering how come the one of the richest people in the world don't figure in the top 200 tax payers in their country. More so when you read from newspapers that one of them is building a 27 floor $1 or 2 billion home. Well generally it seems like Indians and paying tax doesn't go along well. It is sort of like it is a foolish thing to pay taxes. People come up with all sort of reasons to not pay tax, like "first get the rich to pay tax", "government is corrupt, so my tax money will to the pockets of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats", "why should i pay tax, the government has not done anything to me" and so on. The salaried class are the ones who mostly pay the taxes as it is deducted from the salary by their employers and they are the ones who grumble (mostly justifiably) that nobody else is paying taxes. Also there are holy cows amongst some category of people, example - agriculture, traders that they won't be taxed no matter what they earn. If I am correct, less than 5% of the population pays taxes in India, while it is many times more in other countries, particularly in the developed countries. Obviously there is a direct correlation between a high percentage of the population paying taxes and development. Government will have more money to spend in infrastructure, education, healthcare etc. If people pay taxes, they have a stake in the country and have the right to demand that the government deliver the services they expect. If we are going to stick to the same excuses, then it is going to be like the chicken and egg story!! and we will remain the same.