Taxation, Petrol & You!
Taking From The Poor And Giving To The Rich.
The government, no matter which party forms it, has one one thing in mind - how to fleece the public. We will talk about petrol prices and the blatant conning of the common man by his duly elected representatives in parliament.
I am told, through the columns of our esteemed news papers that the government of India pays Rs. 2.90 for every liter of petrol I fill in my bike and more than Rs.4 per liter of diesel. I fill, on an average, 30 liters a month, which works out to approximately Rs. 1380 per month for me. The government spends Rs. 87 on my petrol expenses every month or Rs. 1044 each year. Should I thank them from the bottom of my heart? I don't think so. Perhaps I have it all wrong, not being a guru of economics and all that sort of thing, but I do understand when cash is being taken from my purse and given to my neighbor.
You see, the neighbor in question is a wealthy businessman with four cars. He personally drives a Mercedes which guzzles diesel. My bike gives me 50 kilometers per liter of petrol and his Merc gives him 6. He gets his fuel from the same fuel station I do at the same cost. Actually he gets huge reward points from his credit card company because his diesel bills are higher than my petrol bills or any other commoner's bills. So, in the end his dielse bills much cheaper than my fuel bills. However, my government still pays Rs. 4 for each liter of diesel he fils in his luxury car.
Now lets compare my petrol expenses to fuel. Let us say we both travel 1500 kilometers every month in our respective vehicles, he in his Merc and I on my bike, while I need 30 liters every month he will need 250 liters. The government spends Rs. 1044 per year for me and Rs. 12000 per year on him. That is more than eleven times the amount they are spending on me, and he has three more cars!
Then there are the private tour taxi operators with a fleet of cars, both luxury as well as ordinary. These people are using our taxes to fuel their cars/taxis per kind favor of our government. This leads to thousands of crores of rupees the government spends by way of petrol subsidies - cash they can only get from our pockets.
The people who use diesel for commercial purposes and to fuel their private or commercial generator sets do so with some aid from each and every Indian. Is it fair that the government spend different sums of cash for different people? Why can they not sell petrol for what it is worth? Probably because the states like Maharashtra will not be able to make their whopping 25% on the petrol bills you pay. What to say on the amount they pay on the fleet of cars that have to follow a minister every time he or she is on the move. It is estimated that over a lakh is spent per month on a cabinet ministers petrol expenses. Cash from your and my pockets.
It is time the government stopped puling the wool over the eyes of their citizens and wake up to the reality that we need a more transparent form of government accounting. It is time every one is treated with equality.
In India , Where all are equal, only some are more equal than others. I wonder if we will be treated fairly?
The government, no matter which party forms it, has one one thing in mind - how to fleece the public. We will talk about petrol prices and the blatant conning of the common man by his duly elected representatives in parliament.
I am told, through the columns of our esteemed news papers that the government of India pays Rs. 2.90 for every liter of petrol I fill in my bike and more than Rs.4 per liter of diesel. I fill, on an average, 30 liters a month, which works out to approximately Rs. 1380 per month for me. The government spends Rs. 87 on my petrol expenses every month or Rs. 1044 each year. Should I thank them from the bottom of my heart? I don't think so. Perhaps I have it all wrong, not being a guru of economics and all that sort of thing, but I do understand when cash is being taken from my purse and given to my neighbor.
You see, the neighbor in question is a wealthy businessman with four cars. He personally drives a Mercedes which guzzles diesel. My bike gives me 50 kilometers per liter of petrol and his Merc gives him 6. He gets his fuel from the same fuel station I do at the same cost. Actually he gets huge reward points from his credit card company because his diesel bills are higher than my petrol bills or any other commoner's bills. So, in the end his dielse bills much cheaper than my fuel bills. However, my government still pays Rs. 4 for each liter of diesel he fils in his luxury car.
Now lets compare my petrol expenses to fuel. Let us say we both travel 1500 kilometers every month in our respective vehicles, he in his Merc and I on my bike, while I need 30 liters every month he will need 250 liters. The government spends Rs. 1044 per year for me and Rs. 12000 per year on him. That is more than eleven times the amount they are spending on me, and he has three more cars!
Then there are the private tour taxi operators with a fleet of cars, both luxury as well as ordinary. These people are using our taxes to fuel their cars/taxis per kind favor of our government. This leads to thousands of crores of rupees the government spends by way of petrol subsidies - cash they can only get from our pockets.
The people who use diesel for commercial purposes and to fuel their private or commercial generator sets do so with some aid from each and every Indian. Is it fair that the government spend different sums of cash for different people? Why can they not sell petrol for what it is worth? Probably because the states like Maharashtra will not be able to make their whopping 25% on the petrol bills you pay. What to say on the amount they pay on the fleet of cars that have to follow a minister every time he or she is on the move. It is estimated that over a lakh is spent per month on a cabinet ministers petrol expenses. Cash from your and my pockets.
It is time the government stopped puling the wool over the eyes of their citizens and wake up to the reality that we need a more transparent form of government accounting. It is time every one is treated with equality.
In India , Where all are equal, only some are more equal than others. I wonder if we will be treated fairly?
posted by Dexter Figg | 3:52 AM
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