‘Taxing times for common people’ : Siddaramaiah

NT Correspondent

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah has said there is a need for serious introspection about the increasing tax burden on common people.

Speaking at a training programme for newly-elected members of the Legislative Council on proceedings, Bills and the Public Accounts Committee here on Thursday, he said during the days of the kings, revenue came in the form of tax and the biggest contributor was land revenue. The Father of the Constitution, Dr.B.R. Ambedkar and other economists had argued that only the rich must pay taxes. What they meant was that tax collected from the rich and elite must be spent on the welfare of the poor. However, there is social and economic disparity everywhere. In the epic, Mahabharata, Bhishma Pitamah had told Dharmaraya that the king must act like someone who guards a farm and does not act like a charcoal trader. Tax must be imposed keeping in view the welfare of the poor. Of late, taxes on the rich are being cut and taxes on the aam aadmi are going up.