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We have plethora of Tax laws. It would ideal that we have only one Tax law for the entire country – One Nation : One Tax. It should be such that it calculates the tax due and recovers it too. Following is an attempt towards this goal.
We give BENEFIT to the nation by producing goods/services needed by the it.
We also take benefit of goods/service from the Society, by incurring expenditure to obtain them.
There should be-
“No tax on the BENEFITS given–Tax should be only on the BENEFITS availed.”
Goods & Services Tax (GST) is essentially a tax based on expenditure. Therefore, retain GST as the only mode of taxation.
GST laws may, however need to be simplified somewhat on the following lines.
Adopt one uniform GST for each slab/level of expenditure.
Why a uniform TDS rate
At a given moment, a particular want is uppermost in the minds of the individuals. A thirsty person would want water the most; a sick man the medicine; a traveller the transport and the like.
If the goods/items desired is made available, the degree of satisfaction/benefit would be always uniform in every single case. Since the level of satisfaction would be the same, uniform GST would seem to be justified. But as the level of expenditure/BENEFIT goes up, higher would be the tax rate.
The GST rate could be as under
For expenditure upto 5 lakhs … 5%
Between 6 and 7 lakhs … 6%
and so on.
GST should be recovered as the monies are withdrawn for personal BENEFIT. It should be recovered by way of TDS.
If the Income Tax and any other taxes are abolished, everyone would like to produce maximum goods & services so as to earn maximum.
a) They would put their earnings first into the banks to earn interest thereon.
b) Monies retained-in-hands and in tax-havens, for avoidance of tax, would also find their way into our Banks.
Thus, the entire earnings in the country would come into the Banks. There would be a huge money in the banks. This would serve as the basis of GST.
If implemented on the above lines, some of the major advantages would be:
In the absence of any other tax, there would be a chain of (a)greater production of goods, (b) greater income, (c) greater demand for goods, (c) higher employment potential, and (d) greater income.
Revenue potential
Presently, GST covers only where purchases are made against Bills. Since GST would be collected at the stage of withdrawal of funds itself, GST would have been collected beforehand, there would be no leakage of tax. And the citizens would be free to spend the balance of money on any item of their choice.
During the calendar year 2022 Unified Payment Interface (UPI) alone was reported to be around 125.95 crore.
Actual transactions have to be ascertained by the officials and suggest uniform GST rates for various slabs, keeping in view the revenue target.
Before we end this submission, some concluding remarks.
(a) With almost no paper work, a very large number of trees would have been saved from being axed for paper-production for all time to come. Its desirable effect on global warming for all time to come is left to the imagination of the people.
(b) To encourage digital transactions and minimise cash transactions, government can come out with a Scheme that “On attaining the age of, say, 70 or earlier in the case of death, the individual or the nominee/s would get a decent one-time payment and a monthly pension. This would be a boon especially people in the lower strata who have no insurance/pension cover.
(c) Now illegal payments are reported to be being received indirectly through a chain of people. To curb this, it should be made mandatory that while making any payment the individual should state the purpose/consideration for which the payment is being made.
(d) Most importantly, it should be possible for the government with the huge revenue in its hand, to introduce many social welfare schemes and subsidy to the targeted groups.
One such scheme can be a ‘Universal Free Healthcare scheme for all’. A brief note.
Universal free medicare for all
Our population is around 140 crores. We have the advantage of the number. Hence an annual fund requirement can be assumed to be Rs.500 per head. The total fund requirement would be around 700/800 crores per annum.
Establish an organisation to be called “समाज सुरक्षा संस्थान/Samaj Suraksha Scheme–(SSS)”.
The In-Charge to be known “समाज सुरक्षा अधिकारी Samaj Suraksha Adhikari– (SSA)”.
He would function under a Board of Governors. It would consist of representatives of the Government and eminent persons.
SSA would recognise throughout the country –
(a) Hospitals;
(b) Chemists for supply of medicines and medical aids;
(c) Authorised Medical Attendants (AMA)
From time to time, tariffs would be prescribed for their services. They would provide free services to the citizens. They would get reimbursement once in a calendar month for the services rendered.
Citizens of the country would be entitled to get free treatment in the Hospitals, AMA and medicines Chemists on production of Aadhaar Card.
Appointment of Watchdog committees can be considered to minimise misuse of this facility.
By offering a World Class Health Service, we can promote ‘Medical Tourism’
To augment the fund, contributions made to this Scheme, the donors should be given 100% exemption from tax.
A humble request. Thanks for going through the above viewpoints. If it appeals to you, please do recommend it to the Government and also share this with your friends to elicit wider views and support of the citizens. Thanks.
“JAI HIND”
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.
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