Proposed & To-Be-Quashed Intrusive Tax Returns and BTT

When I was working, my employer, a public sector bank, had asked all employees to open one more Savings account in addition to the primary account in which the salary was credited.  The idea was to credit all reimbursements, exempt from tax, to this second account.  Why?  So that the taxman is spared the trouble (or sadistic pleasure?) of asking, and the taxpayer the onus of explaining, the nature of reimbursement credits.  The primary account is picture and law perfect and the secondary account need not be mentioned in the return which has a field only for the primary account.

This acknowledges the universal truth that taxmen, generally armed with excessive powers, are exceedingly difficult people to deal with.  It is more so in the case of tax payers at the lower end, namely, the salaried class.  And hence anything that adds teeth to the taxman's bite is sure to get the goat of the tax paying and form-filling public, especially the salaried class.

The proposed revised return forms - I call them the 'Kathin' forms - also acknowledge a chink in the Aadhaar and PAN fortified armor of the tax collectors.  Now all accounts compulsorily have PAN numbers, or a declaration in lieu thereof.  And hence it should not be difficult for the government in this brave new world of big data to find out all the accounts of an individual in the whole of the banking system if they need to.  That they plan to ask the taxpayer to disclose the information only acknowledges their inability to do so.  Or, it could be just plain sinister.  Yes, I can find it out but I will do so only when you omit to mention your account.  It is the classical game of NIGYYSOB (Now I Got You, You Son Of a Bitch!)  First you frighten a (weak) taxpayer into non-disclosure and then pounce upon him!  I would like to think that this is what all the public outrage is about.

And all the dust that the Finance Minister has raised with his proposals brings the question back with a bang - 'Why are you not even discussing Banking Transaction Tax?'  This will do away with the guilt of tax evasion, the huge army of tax collectors, a vast array of acts and rates that you have to fiddle with in each budget etcetera, etcetera.  Is it because it will also call for minimizing the use of currency in big ticket transactions and that is something that the corrupt and the powerful cannot do without.  Perhaps that is the crux of the matter.

Why has Baba Ramdeo gone silent on his strident demand for BTT?  Why has the BJP totally forgotten its earlier promises to reduce the iniquitous burden of direct taxes on the salaried class? One would think that our Finance Minister not only wants the middle class to look after itself it also wants this class to have its hands full of things to watch out for and defend itself against?  The PM, of course, is silent on this issue as on other thorny ones.

My First Glimpse Through Progressive Lenses

I have been myopic since childhood.  The power gradually increased to -6 diopters before it stabilized.  Now I am 65 and it has for some reason decreased by about 1diopter.  I needed bifocals when I was close to 50.  As I was a desk worker, I used to wear what they call executive bifocals.  These lenses are divided into two distinct parts across the middle - upper half for distance vision and the lower half for near vision.  Kids would often ask why was I wearing glasses that had a crack!  Working on a computer was a challenge with this pair.  It would lead to a pain in the neck if you looked at the monitor through the lower half.

So I had a pair of monofocals made for 'intermediate' vision with a power lying between the two in the bifocals.  Often I would make do with the monofocals throughout the day and reach for the bifocals only when going out for a walk or a drive.  The monofocals would make do even for driving and walking during bright daylight.

The last time I had my glasses made the optician advised that instead of carrying two pairs, I should go for the progressive lenses which would serve for all three purposes, namely, distance, near and intermediate vision.  However my search on the internet brought out that progressive lenses have zones which make peripheral vision distorted.  It said that many professionals, particularly pilots, often reverted to bifocals because of this problem.  So I ignored the advice.

Then as luck would have it, I lost my intermediate vision glasses during a trip to Delhi.  I put my apprehensions aside and visited my optician for making me a pair of progressive glasses.  When I wore the glasses for the first time I experienced and realized what was meant by the blurry zones of intermediate vision.  I chose to wear my bifocals for driving back home.

As recommended by the optician I kept on wearing the progressive lenses throughout the day.  After a week I feel I am quite accustomed to it now and here are my findings.  The glasses work quite well outdoors when it is bright and sunny.  However when it is not so bright or you are indoors with subdued lighting, the distortions get amplified.  The peripheral distortion zones do leave two narrow strips, one at the top and one at the bottom, free of distortion.  So when you are looking at a distant object through the top narrow strip or looking at a book through the bottom narrow strip there is little problem.  For intermediate vision, which mostly means working on a computer, you must train yourself to look through the narrow vertical strips towards the nose on either side.  Distortions arise if you are not looking straight at the screen.  If your head is tilted even a little on one side, one eye starts looking through the blur zone and discomfort starts.

Another problem is watching TV while reclining on your bed.  In a reclining position you have to look through the lower part of the two lenses which are meant for reading.  So you have to sit up a bit and / or tilt your neck a little forward so that you look through the upper part.

Yet, it offers a huge advantage of not having to switch your spectacles.  I do hope that my eyes will acquire the discipline of looking through the correct zone and the visual cortex will learn not to mind the distortions when the eyes err!

Before I close, I must add that the distortions that we talked about are much more severe than the normal distortions at the periphery in monofocal lenses.

Needs, Comforts, Luxuries and Beyond

Mahatma Gandhi once said that there is more than enough for everyone's needs but not enough for even a single man's greed.  Then there was the billionaire who said that if he were to distribute his entire and vast fortune amongst whole of the humankind, it wouldn't make much difference to anyone except him.  Each one would get just a few dollars while he himself would turn a pauper!

What the billionaire said seems to echo a tenet that the capitalist way subconsciously subscribes to, that is, there isn't enough for everyone's comforts but more than enough for luxuries and beyond for a few.  This being so it makes eminent sense to be greedy.

Now there are two questions for you, dear reader.  First, who is right, Mahatma or the billionaire?  Second, what happens when you have indulged in all the available luxuries and even explored the limits of the beyond and still have money left?

And if I may add a third, should the society define a beyond and put a limit on an individual's wealth which doesn't leave him a surplus when he is at the limits of this beyond?  After this point money will be required only for the love of it and as the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil!  How about the wealth belonging to the artificial persons, the corporations?

A Poem

They don't like suits and they don't wear ties,
They like having cola and also french fries,
They like their Ts and the jeans Levis,
Are you too, my friend, one of these guys?

GPS vs Taxi Driver!

My wife and I recently visited Delhi for renewal of our USA visa.  Taking advantage of the trip, we also took a Delhi sightseeing tour a day before the date of appointment.  However the tour missed out two important places, namely, the Lotus Temple and the Akshardham Temple.

On the date of appointment, we hired a taxi for '8 hours and 80 kms'.  We were staying in Dwarka.  From there we went to the VAC (Visa Application Center.)  After we were done at the Center, we inquired with the driver about visiting the two places that we had missed out.  He said that Lotus Temple was close by and took us there.  Next we asked him to take us to Akshardham.  He said, "Oh that is too far - somewhere between 30 to 40 kms.  A visit will entail extra charges!"

I checked for directions on Google Maps on my Android phone.  Along with directions it gave the distance as 12 kms!  I shared the finding with the driver.  He said he wasn't aware of any routes through the city and he would take us through a highway and that distance would be what he had already told us.  I told him that he need not worry and I would guide him through the short route.  He reluctantly agreed.

By the time I had navigated him through the first two legs of the route, he surrendered.  He said he could now figure out the rest of the route by himself and that I need not guide him.  I kept the navigation on and found him following the exact route that Google maps had told me!

We enjoyed darshan and lunch at the temple and left back for Dwarka.  The trip was complete within the original terms of hire without any extra charges.

Ginger Rail Yatri Niwas at New Delhi

This post is for sharing with you a feedback that I have given to Ginger Hotels.  The feedback follows.

QUOTE

I have stayed at Ginger hotel (Rail Yatri Niwas) in New Delhi on a few occasions earlier too and found it to be a good no-frills budget hotel.

However during my last stay on March 28th, 2015, I felt disappointed. The property is not in good repairs and the word dilapidated comes to mind when you look at the corridors and the rooms.  Bathrooms, both common ones on the ground floor, as well as those attached to rooms have leaky taps and unclean toilet bowls.  This is the surest mark of degeneration.

I find this deterioration painful and will be happy if you can restore the property to its initial neat, clean and pleasing appearance.

UNQUOTE