Income Tax Reforms

08-Aug-2022: Income Tax Reforms

Income Tax being the major source of direct & personal taxes, is a very complicated system and has many hassles to while complying to it. This is one of the many reasons why people get discouraged and shun it. What is more astonishing is that in the name of “Simplification & Rationalisation” the IT Dept only complicates the system further. A classic example is the ITR-2 form which runs into 41 pages.

Here, I take the opportunity to suggest some basic ideas which may cut down the complicity of this system. These may look too simplistic, but have great comprehensive nature. Let’s see:

1. Our Financial Year is from 01-Apr to 31-Mar next year. Let’s simply make it the calendar year- 01-Jan to 31-Dec. This will remove great confusion about 2020-21, 21-22, and things like that. This suggestion was given by me in an article way back in 2012. And the GoI wanted to implement this feature in 2017-18, but later it was postponed indefinitely, don’t know why.
2. The concept of Financial Year (FY) and the Assessment Year (AY): these are coined because, what you earn in an FY has to be declared and paid tax in the next year named AY. But I say why the confusion? In any case when you enjoy any service in one period, you compensate it in the next period. Ex. House rent. The only exception is the Insurance premiums which need to be paid in advance. Well, what I suggest is to keep only “Financial” or “Accounting” Year nomenclature and while declaring & filing, just refer to the FY. Simple. It would reduce confusion.
3. The Rounding Off of the final figure to nearest Tens is now redundant because, the computer system has taken over for payment, refund etc. Earlier, small changes currencies were a problem physically. It will reduce system time.
4. The conception of Nominal (ex- in rents, etc.) and Accrual (ex- in receipts). These are imaginary figures, which may change from time to time. Also, taxing something which one has not “earned” but likely to earn because it has become due to him, is not a sound idea. It creates a lot of calculation which may change later when it is finally received at the hands of the Tax Payers. Then there is the chance of duplicate calculation when actually paid. These concepts need to be removed.
5. Double Taxation: For example, the MF AMCs pay dividend Tax to the exchequer, and again the Dividend is taxable at the hands of unit holders. For simplicity one of them must be removed- preferably the retail unit holders’.
6. TDS is another area of improvement. Though the GoI has enhanced the threshold limits, they are still less. For NBFCs & MF Dividend it is still a meagre amount- Rs. 5000 & Rs.4000, respectively. The following are the suggestions for the limits:
• Bank Interest for Senior Citizens: Rs. 1 Lakh, in a year
• Bank Interest for General Citizens: Rs. 80 K, in a year
• NBFC Interest: Rs. 50 K, in a year
• MF Dividend: Rs. 40 K, in a year
7. TDS, again: The IT Dept deducts TDS and finally, after the ITR filing determines the Tax liability, it refunds the excess TDS. Now it is seen that the TDS refund is more than 50% of the TDS collection. It means that the valuable resources are utilized during collection & refund, apart from the time delay outweigh the gain in tax receipt. It should be so adjusted that the refund be not more than 20% of the collection.
8. About the PAN Card: The Govt. says that PAN is invalid if not linked to Aadhaar. Well, then why not discard the PAN altogether and work with only Aadhaar. This will reduce a lot of paper work, risks, etc.
9. And finally, let me suggest the IT rate for taxable slabs:
• Up to Rs. 5.0 L – Nil (General), Rs. 7.5 L (Senior Citizens), 10.0 L (Super Senior Citizens),
• From Rs. 5.0 / 7.5 /10.0 L to Rs. 10.0 L – 10% plus the Lower Slab Amount,
• From Rs. 10.0 L to Rs. 20.0 L – 20% plus the Lower Slab Amounts,
• From Rs. 20.0 L to Rs. 50.0 L – 30% plus the Lower Slab Amounts,
• From Rs. 50.0 L to Rs. 1.0 Cr – 40% plus the Lower Slab Amounts,
• Above Rs. 1.0 Cr – 50% plus the Lower Slab Amounts,
• There shouldn’t be any surcharge over & above this.
10. Example: If one has an income of Rs. 1.2 Cr per annum, then the tax liability will be: 50K + 2L + 9L + 20L + 10L = Rs. 41.5 L (about 34.6% of the Taxable Income).

With these suggestions, I hope the Tax compliance will greatly improve. What do you say?

Judiciary Reforms

04-Aug-2022: Judiciary Reforms in India

Recently, the CJI and other Justices have expressed their views about two very pertinent aspects of our Judiciary System:

• That the poor have no reach to the expensive and elusive houses of Law, and they suffer in silence.

• That sizable section of under trials are resigned to their fate, having no physical, legal, social, financial support.

If you closely look deep inside it, you will be surprised these observations are obvious, and one doesn't require the stature of CJI or Justices. Any average person can guess it. In fact, I have mentioned this very facts in one of my articles 15 years ago.

Well, the pertinent question here is what the CJI or the Justices or for that matter the Judiciary have done about it. Perhaps "Nothing". Everybody knows that the SCI is more interested in advising GoI and other State Govt.s rather that doing its own moral duties.

We must remember that there are over 4.5 crore cases pending in various courts in India (about 75,000 in the SC). And the number of judges stand at about 29,000 (about 33 in SC). If a judge clears one case per working day, it will take 6 years to clear the back log only, leave aside the new cases in these 6 years.

We frequently hear the statement: "Bail is the norm and Jail is exception". But for whom? For people with money & influence, not for poor and innocent people.

Here and now, I suggest some very simple steps to go about or just to initiate Judiciary Reforms. Why simple? It is said that the best solutions are always simple. 

• All the vacancies in all the courts should be filled up on an urgent basis.

• All the courts must work for 8 hours a day and 6 days in a week.

• There shouldn't be any "Summer  / Winter Vacation" for the Judges (That was a Btitish Legacy). We must have 300 working days at the least.

• All the under trials who have already put up time more than if they would be convicted, must be released with immediate effect.

• Then there are some weird cases like one case is still lingering for the accounting mismatch of Rs, 28 only. Such cases must be wound up at once.

• There are still cases where things were delayed deliberately, hearing adjourned on flimsy ground, because the Lawyers get to benefit out of these. Such cases should be stopped out rightly.

• There are several instances of poor bailees who are not released from Jail because of some red-tapism or procedural issues. 

• Unnecessary / uncalled for review petitions must be prevented.

• Special treatment to the influential section must be stopped- like opening the court at the middle of the night, going straight to SC, etc.

• In courts, where there are heavy back-log of cases, extra courts and judges may be created, like Fast Track Courts, Lok Adalats, and Gram Nyayalayas, Family Courts, etc.

• Legal assistance to be accorded to the weaker sections of society.

• In PIL cases, the petitioner has to get at least 1000 signatures of public, prove his integrity & back ground free of any criminal case, and also has to prove his stake / involvement.

• The courts should do away with archaic and British related laws which have lost their relevance today.

• Still there are cases where the Judge is taken to task because of speedy judgement. These things should be encouraged, of course with correct procedure, not taken to task.

These suggestions look simplistic and don't require any special ability to spell out, but difficult to implement in our own scheme of things. But there must be a start sometime- the sooner the better. Now the question is who will initiate it? It's the CJI of the SC of course.

Think it over!

Fuel Price

30-July-2022: Fuel Price Calculation in India

In our country, the price of petroleum products is a very critical and sensitive issue. And it is made still worse by propaganda, mis-information, rumour, dis-information, etc. Here, I have tried to explain the method of calculation for the Fuel Price, in a very simple way.

Before that, a few important points to remember:

• Our country, having a population of 1.4 Billion (140 Crore) people has huge consumption.

• But we have the internal resources for only 15 - 20%, the rest 80 - 85% has to be imported.

• We have to purchase the Crude oil from the international market, by paying in USD.

• So the Forex Rate and Forex Reserve come into play significantly.

• Being the cash-cow of the Government, the taxes remain very high- excise for Central Govt., and VAT for State Govt. None of the parties are willing to sacrifice this in private, even though some protest it publicly.

• The Public Sector Oil Manufacturing Companies (OMCs) must be profitable else they will be a burden to the exchequer.

• Then there are other things like shipment, transportation, dealers’ commission, etc.

Now let’s try to calculate the Petrol / Diesel in India. These can be done in 5 simple steps:

SN.	Description	Petrol	Diesel
1.	Input cost per Litre = [Crude Price in USD / Barrel] X [USD / INR Rate] / [ Litres / Barrel]. Note: One Barrel contains 159 Litres. Crude Price includes shipping Freight etc.
	So if Crude Price is 97 $, Forex Rate is 79 Rs/$, then Input Cost = (Rs./Ltr)	97 X 79 / 159 = 48.20	97 X 79 / 159 = 48.20
2.	Cost of Processing: For Petrol 15 % and Diesel 18 % Approx. (Includes Transport)	48.20 + 15%	48.20 + 18%
	So the Base Prices are (Rs./Ltr)	= 55.40	= 56.90
3.	Central Excise Taxes are approx Rs. per Ltr respectively	= 19.90	= 15.80
	Gross Prices at the entry of Petol Pump. (Rs./Ltr)	= 75.30	= 72.70
4.	The Dealers’ Commission added. (Rs./Ltr) Approx	=   3.50	=   2.50
5.	State VAT – Varies from 15% to 35% (Rs./Ltr) Approx	= 22.60	= 13.80
	Final Price for Customers (Rs./Ltr) Approx	= 101.40	= 89.00

This example is closest to the Bangalore price as of today. Since the Crude Price and the USD exchange rate varies on the day to day basis, so the GoI refreshes the Prices every day at 6 AM.

There are some States, which impose other surcharges additional to VAT.

Disclaimer: Please note that this calculation is for understanding the mechanism, and is not purported to be the actual one.

[ Source: Various Websites ]

Smt Droupadi Murmu (2)

22-July-2022: Smt Droupadi Murmu - 15th President of India

Smt Droupadi Murmu’s journey to the top office

1. She Belongs to the Tribal Santhal Community

Draupadi Murmu was born on 20 June, 1958, in Uparbeda village under Kusumi Tehsil of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. Coming from the Santhal community, Murmu struggled with poverty in her early years in one of the most remote and underdeveloped districts of the country. The Santhals have a higher literacy rate than other tribes in India.

She will succeed Ram Nath Kovind, will be India's second woman President. She will also be the youngest and India's first President to be born after Independence.

It is believed that Murmu is deeply spiritual and a keen practitioner of the meditation techniques of the Brahma Kumaris, a movement she embraced after losing her husband, two sons, brother, and mother between 2009-2015.

2. First Jharkhand Governor to Complete a Five-Year Tenure

Draupadi Murmu served as the Governor of Jharkhand from May 2015 to July 2021 and became the first governor to complete the five-year term in the state. Jharkhand was formed in 2000. Also, she was the first Odia woman and tribal leader to be appointed governor of an Indian state. After completing her tenure, she devoted her time to meditation and social work in Rairangpur.

3. Education

Draupadi Murmu attended High School in Bhubaneswar. Murmu passed her matriculation from the Unit II Girl’s High School in 1974. She studied there for three years (Class 8, 9 and 10) before joining Rama Devi Women’s College in Bhubaneswar for a bachelor's degree in Arts.

She completed her graduation from Rama Devi College, which is now a university. Born into a Santhal family, Murmu is considered to be an excellent orator in Santhali and Odia languages.

4. Started Out As a Teacher

She worked as a junior assistant in the Odisha government’s irrigation and power department from 1979 to 1983, before joining Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, Rairangpur as a teacher in 1994 and continued till 1997.

5. She Joined BJP In 1997

Draupadi Murmu joined the BJP in 1997, and she was elected as the councillor of the Rairangpur district of Odisha in the same year. In the same year, she also became the Vice - Chairperson of Rairangpur. This began her political journey.

She later went on to become a minister in the Odisha government from 2000-04, where she handled ministries such as transport, commerce, fisheries, and animal husbandry.

Murmu was also the BJP's vice president and later president of the Scheduled Tribe Morcha in Odisha.

She was elected the district president of Mayurbhanj (West) unit of the BJP in 2010 and re-elected in 2013. She was also named a member of the BJP National Executive (ST Morcha) the same year.

During the BJP and Biju Janata Dal coalition government in Odisha, Murmu served at several posts as a Minister. She has been an MLA twice on a BJP ticket from Odisha's Rairangpur (2000 and 2009). She held on to her seat when BJD snapped ties with BJP in the 2009 elections.

She continued rising through the ranks in the BJP as well as the government. Murmu was elected as BJP's district president of the Mayurbhanj (West) unit in 2010, and she was re-elected in 2013. The leader was also named as a BJP National Executive (ST Morcha) member the same year.

6. Family

Draupadi Murmu was married to Shyam Charan Murmu and they had three children. But her husband passed away earlier due to a cardiac arrest. She also lost two of her sons, one under mysterious circumstances in 2009 and the other in a road accident in 2012. Her daughter works in a bank in Odisha.

7. Best MLA Award

The former Odisha Minister Draupadi Murmu was awarded the ‘Nilakantha Award’ in 2007 by the Odisha Legislative Assembly for being the best MLA of the year.

(Resources: Various Websites)