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.

Federer Fights Back

This is to the tennis enthusiasts. I wanted to write this blog some time back immediately after the French open finals after the way Nadal beat Federer. At that time it seemed to me that there is no way Federer can win French Open while Nadal is around. While everybody agrees that Federer has the game that is stylish and classy, I always felt that he lacked the determination and will to win like Nadal. The other thing that stuck me is Federer’s reluctance to make adjustments to his game to counter Nadal. It has been a few years now that Nadal is relentlessly attacking and exploiting Federer’s backhand with any response from Federer. It used to be in French Open, but now also in Wimbledon from this year. Federer seems to believe (or is it arrogance) that he doesn’t need to do anything different, whatever is the situation. Coming back to this years Wimbledon, it was an excellent high quality match, though I don’t know if it is the best match in Wimbledon ever. Nadal was a worthy winner I think the match really started after the rain break in the 3rd set. In the first two sets Federer didn’t look like a 5 time champion at all. May be at the break the realization must have struck him that he is about to lose his prized possession. What followed was classic tennis and I was unfortunate to have not watched after the 2nd rain break. Though Federer won the 3rd and 4th sets, it is to Nadal’s credit that Federer had to win in tiebreakers. More importantly Federer fought back, probably be most I have seen him do. How he is going to bounce back remains to be seen. As for Nadal, now he has won in grass, his next frontier is the hard courts. I always felt that Nadal’s game is a lot physical in nature. His ability to reach balls that would be otherwise be clean winners is what puts doubts in other players minds and induce errors by forcing them to try highly risky shots to end the points. So a lot will depend on his ability to maintain his fitness given the running he is doing and the resultant wear and tear.

Tail Wagging the Dog

I will admit that I am not a competent person to comment to the Indo-US nuclear deal. But from reading the newspapers, it seems that the experts/commentators in the field are generally ok with the deal. Even the scientists who complained earlier are not saying anything against the deal. So it looks like a win-win situation. Also I would say the US or for that matter, no country would do a deal for charity. There has to be something in it for both parties. Mainly the BJP & Communists seemed to opposed to it. BJP is pathetic. After they lost power, they have been behaving like a child who's toys have been taken away from them. They initiated this process and now they are crying foul. So much for national interest. The communists opposition is expected. They blindly oppose anything related to US. Communists worldwide have changed except for India communists, who are stuck in the past. I used to wonder many times, if some these communist leaders who regularly appear in the media, have at any point of time in their lives have done any constructive work!! They have made a mess out of West Bengal & Kerala. Bengal was one of the most industrialized state at the time of independence and now everybody knows the story. It seems that they will never let India progress. Actually in the last 2-3 days, I have read quite a few newspaper columns questioning the Communist's motivation for opposing the deal. The congress is again pathetic. They have let the communists dictate terms and have a veto power. They should have called the communist's bluff long back. With 10% or so MP's communists are trying to rule the country by proxy. Its ridiculous. The tail is wagging the Dog.

People's President and Madam President

I am one of those deeply disappointed by unfolding events in the presidential elections. I was hoping that Dr. Kalam would be President for another term. I thought he really captured the imagination of the nation’s younger population. He had the background and ability to motivate and advice people. The fact that he was born in a poor family in rameshwaram and risen all the way to the president office was itself a source of inspiration to many people. He had the ability to think of the future and articulate visions that excited a lot of people. Though President’s post is largely a ceremonial one, many people got interested in the presidency for the first time during Kalam's time. Even if the successor had good credentials, it still would have been a tall order to match up to Kalam. Now with the current set of unexciting candidates, I doubt if people will remain interested in the president’s office.
The other issue is the spin that is being put by the ruling party(s) about their candidate Pratiba Patil being the first women President of the country. From all reports, it is clear that she was a compromise candidate after all the first choice (male) candidates were not acceptable to all coalition parties. Having a women President would be a good thing, provided we have the right candidate. Don’t we have better women candidates? Frankly we have had a women (Indira Gandhi) in a more powerful Prime Minister position and she is considered the strongest PM of India. In this regard, we are much better than many western democracies. US, France hasn’t had a women president and Germany had it only recently.
Coming back to presidential poll, all the media reports about the skeletons tumbling from Pratiba Patil’s past is only adding to people’s uneasiness. It is almost as if the politician’s are not happy about Kalam’s huge popularity & credibility relative to their’s and so want to impose one of their ilk on the people so as to restore the balance.
To end this piece, I would say most of us want as President (male or female) who could represent the aspirations of the young and rising India.

Heads and Helmets

This post is with respect the High Court inspired move to enforce wearing of helmets in Chennai from June 1st. I think a lot of people took it seriously (for their own good) and bought helmets in the run-up to the D-Day. Media, particularly the FM stations played a part in encouraging people to buy helmets. On June 1st, when I was driving to office, I saw that most of the two wheeler riders (say 90%) were wearing helmets. I could guess that many of them have just bought helmets because the helmets looked new & shining. I thought it was a great beginning. Next day came the news that Chief Minister (CM) has asked police not to enforce the law strictly and soon you could see that most of the people on the road were not wearing helmets. It was disappointing. I for one, couldn't understand the rationale. Well you either enforce the law or don't. What is that don't enforce strictly! People naturally took the hint and soon things were same as before. Then came the change to the law that Women & Children are exempted. Why is that.. don't they have heads too!! every day you read in newspapers about fatal accidents and in most two-wheeler fatalities, the rider was not wearing helmet. In fact, a few months ago, a friend of mine died in a accident. He was sitting in the pillion and he did not wear a helmet.
I didn't hear or read about any major opposition from the people to the helmet wearing enforcement in the first place. Only a few politicians seem to oppose it. So why!!
I would say Leadership is not about pleasing everyone. Its about taking right decisions, even if it is unpopular with people. Eventually good decisions will be recognised by people and will become part of the legacy.
I just hope that whoever bought the helmet will continue to use it.

Federer's road to Greatness is through Nadal

This one is for the tennis folks. I am writing this after watching the French Open final yesterday. It was not a bad match, but considering the high expectations of Federer, it was disappointing. Like many, I was hoping for a Federer win, but anyway felt Nadal won't give up easily. Federer had many chances, but he did not take it. He strengths like serves & forehand deserted him and Nadal anyway was hammering him on his backhand. What was disappointing was that Federer did seem to put him much of a fight.. atleast his body language didn't suggest so. He had that look of a beaten man long before the match ended. Having said this, Nadal is a worthy Champion and he deserved the French Open. Almost everybody agrees that Federer is hugely talented, probably having the best game ever. But it is almost like he expects the opponents to rollover in awe (like Royalty), which anyway seemed to be mostly happening so far in other surfaces. He hasn't needed to try too hard. But clay is a different ball game and Nadal the reigning champion is not going to give up a inch and he has that warrior mentality who seem to treat every point as a life and death issue. It is clear that, for Federer, the road to French Open title will have to pass through Nadal. How he deals with this will define his legacy. There is already talk of whether Federer is the greatest player to play all time. I think it is meaningless. You have to be the greatest player in your time, then only you become for all-time. Greatness is not only about winning, but how you react to pressure and challenges in you way and overcome it. In that sense, Federer has some distance to cover.

(Un)Real Estate

This pertains to Chennai real estate, but could apply to other major Indian cities as well. I am writing from my personal experiences having observed the market for the last 3 years and more specifically looking to buy a apartment for the last 1 year before finally biting the bullet recently.
if you are frustrated, hapless, helpless and even angry at watching the gravity defying raise in real estate prices, then you are not alone and in fact part of the majority of the prospective buyers. You think the properties are over-priced, but have that sinking feeling that the rates are likely to go up further and that if you miss now, you may not be able to catch up with the rates. Some builders seem to be hiking rates on weekly basis. Someone said, once the builder starts raising the rates, all the fence-sitters amongst the buyers rush in to buy.. good strategy!!
I also read in some newspaper article that 80% of the projects are targeted towards the top 20% of the buyers. I would say it must be top 10%. Also the market has become investor/speculator centric rather than buyer centric. I have heard statements like "One Investor from mumbai has booked 5 flats". Nowadays you are expected to rush to builders office with chequebook in hand as soon as soon as you hear about the project launch, no time to think, deliberate & decide. First book the apartment and then do whatever..
The ubiquitous "software professional" has long been blamed for the rise in the real-estate boom. Now it seems like even amongst them, only the top-level can afford the current rates. Or it must be a double income "software family". Even the "NRI software professionals" are feeling the heat. Some of my "NRI" friends say that they can buy property at same price or cheaper in their respective locations than here.
So what do we do... will the rates continue to go up - probably yes.. will the rates stabilise or go down - we can certainly hope.

Glorifying Saddam!!

It was amusing to watch TV channels and newspapers, mainly the protests organized and statements release by the political parties condemning Saddam's execution. It seemed like Saddam had been elevated to "Mahatma" level, never mind that he has been responsible for death of hundreds of thousands of his fellow countrymen and in neighboring countries like Iran & Kuwait. He had been accused of using chemical weapons against his countrymen and also of killing his son-in-law. It was funny to see all & sundry parties protesting against the execution. It is one thing to dislike US policies, but certainly doesn’t give license to glorify dictators like Saddam. Why cant these parties do something to improve the lot of poor people in their respective states. It seems to me that this is one more instance of vote bank politics. It is sad that people like Aung San Suu Kyi are languishing in jail for decades, while tyrants like Saddam are being glorified.

New Year 2007

Wishing You All a Very Happy New Year..

Below is a nice new year message that I read somewhere
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I AM THE NEW YEAR
Life I am the new year.I am an unspoiled page in your book of time.
I am your next chance at the art of living.
I am your opportunity to practicewhat you have learned about life during the last twelve months.
All that you sought and didn't find is hidden in me, waiting for you to search it out with more determination.
All the good that you tried for and didn't achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.
All that you dreamed but didn't dare to do,all that you hoped but did not will, all the faith that you claimed but did not have --these slumber lightly,waiting to be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose.
I am your opportunity to renew your allegiance to Him who said, "behold, I make all things new." I am the new year.
~Author Unknown~