Collect Tax but don’t forget your Duties.
In a recent press release the income tax department of central government was happy to note that there was an average of 46.95 % growth in the advance tax being recovered from various quarters of the country. The department stated that the nett advance taxes collected in the months running upto July 2008 in this fiscal amounts to Rs.71,648 crore. Last year during the same period the advance tax recovery was Rs.48,756 crore. 1 From these statistics it is heartening to see that treasury of the government is not empty and that it is becoming robust at the financial front. A robust government treasury augurs well for the development of the nation and its citizens. Supreme Lord Krishna also states that the government or the King is entitled to collect taxes from the citizens and thus support the growth and development of the individuals and the nation as a whole.
It is also important on the part of the government to do an introspection as to whether it has fulfilled all its duties which come along with the right for it to be able to levy and collect taxes from its citizens.
Srila Prabhupada says:
“The king or government may levy taxes upon the citizens in various ways—by revenue duties, customs duties, realization of fines, and so on—provided the king is able to give full protection to his subjects to assure the security of their life and property. Unless he is able to give protection, he cannot levy taxes.” (SB 7.11.14, purport)
“An executive head should not be callous to the welfare of the general mass of people while he simply goes on collecting taxes. The king's real duty is to see that the citizens gradually become fully Kåñëa conscious. Kåñëa conscious means completely free from all sinful activities. As soon as there is complete eradication of sinful activities in the state, then there will be no more war, pestilence, famine or natural disturbances.”
(SB 4.20.14, purport)
One of the foremost duties of the government is that it has to give protection to its citizens. The citizens should be protected from thieves, rogues and disturbing elements. When the thieves and rogues are allowed to flourish there is chaos in the society. Everyone requires a peaceful atmosphere to conduct their occupational duties, but the disturbing elements create an unsecured situation by usurping others rights. A powerful government should see to it that such elements are held at bay by strict enforcing of law and order.
At the law and order front it would be wrong to say that there is utter chaos in all parts of the country. In some parts there is utter chaos due to nexus between government and underworld. Whereas in India as a whole crime rate is at about 5.28 per one lakh population. The sad part is that the crime rate in India’s most literate state is 20.19 per one lakh population.2 In general there has been marginal increase in crime rates in both urban and rural areas as compared with last year. Hence there is wide scope for reduction civil and criminal abuses. Government should make this possible by instilling in citizens appreciation for high moral and ethical values, which cannot be achieved without the acceptance of God and His laws.
Apart from caring for the material well being, the government should also see to it that everyone develops their Krishna consciousness. The ultimate goal of life is to love God and go back to Him, back to Godhead. This can be done by instituting systems for the propagation of Krishna consciousness. One may argue that by doing this the secular nature of our government will be destroyed. This is far from truth. When we say secular it does not mean government makes a systematic attempt at eliminating all bonafide religious practices. Secular means all bonafide religions are allowed to be taught, flourish and expand among the general public, government does not force any particular religion on its citizens but allows him to choose the religion he desires to accept. But all citizens must follow the tenets of the religion which they embrace. The adherents must not misinterpret the tenets of the religion to suit their whims. Government’s duty is to create an atmosphere where each one can pursue the practices of the bonafide religion of his choice under the guidance of the bonafide teachers. This will ensure that the citizens are free from all kinds of sinful reactions. Bonafide religion teaches one to love God and by following its tenets strictly one makes progress towards understanding and realizing God. When a citizen follows the bonafide religious tenets he will automatically follow all the moral and ethical codes. This will ensure that there is harmony even in all day to day transactions between citizens thus automatically minimizing all abuses.
It is imperative that along with a concerted effort at economic progress the government should focus on enhancing the quality of moral and ethical life of Indians. By creating a conducive atmosphere for the citizens achieve spiritual emancipation too otherwise the policies will be like rudderless boat which is sailing fast but without direction. This will ensure that the India does not make the same mistakes that the west did in its quest for development.
1 Press releaseNo.402/92/2006-MC (37 of 2008) dated 6th August 2008.
2 PTI as quoted in Indiainfo.com website, dated Jan 13th 2008.
