Farmers and income tax

  IT is learnt that the Finance Ministry is moving towards bringing agriculture under the income tax net. Since the sixties some economists and policy-makers have been engaged in studying the so-called agricultural prosperity. A few of them strongly advocated that the farming sector should be taxed. Some others argued that, taking the total tax burden into consideration, both direct and indirect, this sector is equally shouldering the burden of progressive taxation. In terms of total taxation, this sector definitely pays an equal amount of tax like the non-agricultural sectors.

The Finance Ministry is, however, arguing that the affluent layer in the agricultural sector must bear the burden to ease the fiscal stress of the nation. But my argument is: if the peasantry has emerged as an island of prosperity why has there been perennial occurrence of suicides over the last couple of years?

One doubts the validity of the arguments of the ministry’s experts. Did the benefits of technological breakthroughs reach large segments of the peasantry? The possible answer could be “Yes”. The benefits of the so-called Green Revolution have only been passed on to the well-organised trading communities. To an Indian farmer, agriculture is only the way of life and not a commercial proposition.

It is being felt strongly that the subsidy bill has been rising steadily for some time, putting pressure on the government’s finances. The subsidy element in the current financial year’s budget is as high as 15 per cent of the GDP. The food and fertiliser subsidy accounts for about Rs 20,000 crore — nearly 8.5 per cent of the total subsidy. But where all this subsidy goes should also be deeply studied.

The farmer is just an agent who garners the food and passes it on. That is all. The entire agricultural policy is attuned to this inverted line of thinking. Thus the farmers subsidise the rest of the community. The huge budget subsidies in the name of the farmers actually are meant for others. It could very easily be analysed that the subsidies ultimately benefit neither the consumer nor the producer but the middle men except for the fact the farmer might have grown a little more on his piece of land.

SURAJ BHAN DAHIYA
Chandigarh

Planning one’s holiday

Like hobbies, holidays provide us a necessary break from the monotony and drudgery of everyday living. We should organise our jobs in such a way that we can call a halt for approximately one week after every three months or for two weeks, after about six months of hardwork. It is, however, observed that very few persons in our country plan their holidays. For most people, holiday means doing nothing which can become dreary and tiresome.

The whole idea of a holiday is that you and your family should do something different from what you have been doing in your everyday routine life. Try to take time off work when the children have a vacation in their schools/colleges so that they can also participate in your holiday plan. It is a failing of the parental duty that your children have no time to wonder and day dream. You don’t necessarily have to go to Kashmir, Goa, Paris or Switzerland for a holiday. But if you can, then there is nothing like it... go as far as your fancy takes you or your pocket permits you.

A great deal of pleasure of a holiday lies in anticipating about it and planning it. Gather advance information about the place you plan to visit; its history, its climate, places of interest for tourists, its food and any other specialities that the place may offer. The more you know about it before you actually go there, the better will be your planning, and more you will enjoy it.

Occasional periods of isolation are most pleasurable. How true are those lines of W.H. Davies on leisure: “What is this life if full of care we have no time to stand and stare.”

A.K. SURI
Chandigarh

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Depressing development

I was pleased to receive season’s greetings from an old student, an officer in the state government service. He had written “Dr” with his name. While reciprocating his greetings and congratulating him on his academic attainment, I sought to be enlightened about the inferences of his research. He wrote back that he did not pursue higher studies after B.Sc., but as the pay scale of his cadre had been equated with that of the State Veterinary Service, his association decided that like all veterinarians, its members should start introducing themselves with the title “Dr” to demonstrate their parity. I felt depressed at this depraving explanation.

The other day I came across a contemporary teacher who retired more than 20 years ago as the head of a postgraduate department in a local college. After the exchange of pleasantries, I asked for his telephone number. He gave his visiting card to me in a pompous manner on which his name was sandwitched between “Dr” and “D.Lit”.

I recollected that he held a master’s degree only at the time of his superannuation. Complimenting him on his post-retirement academic attainment, I enquired about the topic of his research. He stated superciliously that an international organisation got his merit assessed and conferred that recognition. I was not convinced. On pursuance of the affair, it got revealed that the gentleman was on the mailing list of the American Biographical Institute, a commercial organisation, which keeps sending high-sounding offers like: “Nomination as Man of the Year”; “Award of Commemorative Medal of Honor”; “Inclusion Among Five Thousand Personalities of the World”; “Selection as One in a Million”; “Mention in the International Directory of Distinguished Leadership”; “2000 Millennium Medal of Honor”, etc.

All this is given on a consideration of a few hundred dollars; the invitation concluding with the unwitty caution that if an affirmative reply was not received within 30 days, the offer would be extended to the next person on the merit list. One of these awards is called “Decree of International Letters for Cultural Achievement” and costs $ 325. The retired pedagogue had bought that document and was flaunting it as an academic attainment without any qualms of conscience.

How degrading that we are entering the next millennium with such depraved intelligentsia!

(Prof) HAZARA SINGH
Ludhiana

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Budget: some suggestions

The Finance Minister will set a healthy precedent by having decided to change the outdated practice of Budget presentation at 5 p.m. to 11 a.m. He may usefully introduce a few more changes.

(1) Dispense with the grim sense of humour of the Finance Ministry while introducing budget levies.

(2) Dispense with the Press conference of the Finance Ministry Secretaries the following day, explaining how the Budget proposals will not result in a price rise, except for a possible fraction of 1 per cent, a prediction which inevitably proves wrong year after year.

(3) Forget about some so-called reliefs to fixed income groups given with one hand and taken away with another.

If the Finance Minister is serious about reviving the economy and helping the poor, then he should address himself to four issues:

(A) Drastic reduction in excise duties.

(B) Raise tax exemption threshold to Rs 1 lakh.

(C) Bring a measure to rope in every candidate fighting an election to a municipality, state legislature and Parliament to automatic scrutiny for tax status.

(4) Tell the country how the government proposes to tackle the real problem of the Indian economy, the government’s inability to spend the resources with managerial competence with a machinery which has rusted with 196 days of holidays, and the total lack of accountability to the public from whom it gets its bread, butter as also salt.

M. R. PAI
Mumbai

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Unfair practice

The collection of about Rs 4000 crore by public sector financial institutions like the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) and the ICICI by fleecing the gullible public, and silence maintained by statutory institutions like the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC), created to act as the watchdog, is discernible.

The IDBI and the ICICI have floated safety bonds advertising that these bear an annual interest at the rate of 12.5 per cent and more, whereas for one month after making the deposit the interest rate is 5 per cent. It is not understood how SEBI has approved the bond forms of the IDBI and the ICICI which do not mention this fact along with the rate of interest as 12.5 to 14 per cent in bold letters. SEBI has rather allowed them to hide this disappointing fact somewhere in the middle of the reverse of the huge form printed all over in small letters. Is it not an unfair trade practice? The MRTPC and the NGOs fighting for the cause of consumers should take note of it.

Lieut-Col N.K. GHAI (retd)
Chandigarh