Nagpur: The political debate on freebies has had a quiet death. During key elections, political parties competed with each other in making a slew of promises in their manifestos– from free electricity and free bus travel for women to cash benefits and subsidised gas cylinders.
“Freebies given for votes are a slow-spreading cancer that will one day endanger the Indian economy.”
Let’s take a look at some recent examples:
1. Congress’s ₹62,000 crore freebies in Karnataka: This amount is distributed every year and includes the Grihalakshmi scheme, which provides ₹2,000 per month to each female head of the household. Out of this, ₹1,000 is for inflation relief, ₹500 for gas cylinder price relief, and ₹500 for GST relief.
2. BJP-governed Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Minister Ladli Behna scheme: This scheme gives ₹1,250 per month to each woman, costing ₹61,890 crore over five years.
3. Maharashtra Government’s Ladli Behna scheme: This scheme provides ₹1,500 monthly assistance to married, divorced, and destitute women aged 21-60.
4. Central Government’s Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY): Under this scheme, 813 million people are given free grains.
Who will pay for all this? Not the government, but us, the taxpayers of India. We work from morning to evening, pay taxes, and our hard-earned money is given away as freebies. Why?
Instead of providing employment opportunities, aren’t we making our large population dependent on free things without working? Aren’t we creating a potential state of crime due to unemployment?
India’s majority consists of the middle class. The middle class means we have a roof over our heads and can eat two meals a day.
But why does the government dislike the middle class? Most middle-class Indians are salaried; and salaried people have very few legal ways to save on taxes.
So, should income tax be abolished? Why not incentivize taxpayers?
Imagine your salary is deducted for taxes (TDS) before it reaches you, and then you have to pay income tax on the already reduced amount, and if that’s not enough, there is GST too! So, you are paying tax on tax – it’s extremely unfair.
Many, if not most, government schemes are targeted towards poor and rural Indians; ironically, many of them possess far more assets than most middle-class people.
Rich people are so rich that they have political connections or ways to help them save money. The poor don’t need to pay taxes; many of them are actually wealthier than middle-class citizens but deliberately lack a PAN card and mostly deal in cash and barter, thus staying out of the IT department’s reach.
So, the middle-class citizens are stuck because they lack any of the above options.
And what do you get in return for paying taxes?
1. Bridges that keep collapsing.
2. Hospitals with poor facilities.
3. Government officials who constantly demand bribes.
4. Law enforcement that doesn’t want to file an FIR.
5. Women’s safety in many parts of the country is still a joke.
6. Worsening environmental pollution.
7. Water problems – no one cares to build desalination plants.
8. Major industry players receive large tax subsidies.
9. Roads filled with potholes.
10. Constant power cuts.
People agree that taxes help pay government salaries, contribute to the economy, defense, etc., but…what does the majority of India’s population…the middle class get?
Should income tax be abolished? Why not incentivize taxpayers?
