The citizens of India are required to pay Income tax as well as other taxes as per law.

1. Some people raise the question 'Why should I pay tax? They argue: I have to pay for my food, for my house, for my travel, for my medical treatment, for owning a vehicle not only cost of vehicle but also vehicle tax and what not. Even on many roads, one has to pay toll tax! They also say that if we compare with countries like USA and UK, the people get social security as also medical facilities virtually without any cost. But India does not offer such facilities.

2. What does the Government do for citizens :

It is true that India does not offer social security and free medical facilities as being provided in some developed countries. But we need to ponder over the issue with a larger canvass. We need to appreciate that the Government has to discharge a number of responsibilities, which include Health care through Government hospitals (usually they offer service without any cost), Education (In Municipal and Government schools the fee is negligible). The Government also provides cooking gas at concessional rate or gives subsidy. Of course the major expenditure of Government has to be incurred on National Defence, Infrastructure Developments etc. Taxes are used by the government for carrying out various welfare schemes including employment programmes. There are Lakhs of employees in various departments and the administrative cost has to be borne by the Government. Though the judicial process involves delay, yet the Salaries, perks of Judges, Magistrates and judicial staff has also to be paid by the Government. Thus on considering these various duties of the Government, we need to appreciate that we must pay tax as per law. We have to act like a responsible citizen.

3. Why tax considered as burden and not a price we pay for civilisation :

A tax payer in general feels that taxes are a burden and it is human tendency to avoid payment of tax or at least minimising the tax liability. In earlier years the tax rates were also exorbitant. Prior to Eighties, the rate of Income-tax was as much as 97.75 per cent inclusive of surcharge. But now the scenario is fast changing. Though the tax rates have been lowered, but still our country lacks desired tax culture like developed nations. It has been said by Justice Homes of the US Supreme Court that "Taxes are the price for civilisation" . It is time tax is no longer considered as burden but a price for civilization.

4. Let us join hands to develop tax culture:

a) It is an admitted fact that in India, we are lacking tax culture. Despite considerable efforts for widening the tax base, still the number of taxpayers in our country, is about 82.7 million people which is 6.25 per cent of the over 132 crore population, which is too small for our country. In contrast, in the U.S., about 45 per cent of the population pays taxes. There are many reasons for this. Part of it has to do with the fact that many Indians do not earn enough annual income to even qualify to pay income tax, but a larger factor has to do with lack of tax culture, as also India's huge rural and underground economies.

b) A taxpayer feels that the tax system in our country is ludicrously complicated, confounding, contradictory, wracked by inefficiency, incompetence and to some extent corruption. However, in contrast with the highest rate of 97.75 per cent income tax (including surcharge) in seventies, now Indians earning upto Rs. 2.5 Lakhs annually (which cover the overwhelming majority of the country) are exempt for paying any income tax. Those earning between Rs. 2.5 Lakhs and 5 Lakhs are subject to 5 per cent tax; those earning between 5 Lakhs and 1 million rupees, 20 percent tax; and those above 1 million, a 30 percent rate.

c) For sure, potential for tax collection is much higher than what we achieve at present but that is possible if we take adequate and sustained efforts for developing tax culture and also take sincere steps for minimizing harassment of tax-payers as well as develop sense of accountability to ensure hassle