Political parties or governments cannot use tax payers’ money for freebies, says CAIT
Team L&M
Freebies culture pioneered by various governments and political parties is eating up the country’s economy and adversely affecting its development. This “revadi culture”, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls it, is detrimental to country’s wealth, and it is time for the people to protest unitedly against it, say leaders of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
The CAIT has decided to launch national awareness campaign as also a public discourse at national level against this practice.
“Freebies are an extra financial burden on tax payers, which some parties are shamelessly using,” says CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal. “It is unconstitutional, irrational, politically-motivated act of governments and political parties which is against the trade and industry, salaried class, consumers, media, small scale industries, transport, lawyers, doctors and other professional people and social organization etc,” he adds.
Stating that as a fundamental practice tax money should only be used for the progress and and development of the country, CAIT National President BC Bhartia remarks, “As a welfare state, in the event of any natural calamity, the funds can be routed to help the affected people, and providing free health and education to economically weaker section.”
The trade leaders further say that political parties can distribute things under the revadi culture, but only from their own party fund; they have no right to do so with the tax payers’ money. “To liberate the tax money from the clutches of freebies, the Union Government should make a well-defined policy which must be followed in letter and spirit by all the governments and political parties,” says Khandelwal.
India already has a high tax structure, and taxes on almost all goods and services, including indirect ones like, GST, surcharge, cess and income tax. This apart, people also have to pay other types of taxes like property tax, electricity tax, water tax etc but the taxpayer does not get any social security or any other kind of benefit in return for this. This is unlike in other countries where tax payers get several benefits, including social security benefits.
“Governments and political parties have promoted free culture only for the sake of votes and are misusing our hard-earned money. It is time we stop it,” adds Bhartia.
