Making people Pay - The Economic Sociology of Taxation
Legal Corner Icon — the image was hosted by the publisher and was not captured.Dr. SIBICHEN K Mathew, an Additional Commissioner of Income Tax in Bangalore has written an excellent treatise on the sociology of taxation. Justice Venkatachaliah, former CJI thinks the book is eminently readable and is great intellectual effort. The scholarly work is laced with wry humour and monumental information with a few really good cartoons thrown in. Way back in the 320 BC, in the Mauryan kingdom, actors, musicians and dancing girls contributed substantially to the Revenue kit. Sibichen notes that they still do. Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan paid over thirty Crores of Income Tax. The Bachchan family has been one of the top tax paying families in the country.
He writes that tax compliance is more a matter of mind than a matter of money. Popular psyche has been ingrained over the generations with an apathy towards taxation as the same was either discriminatory or was used for selfish interests or for financing unjust wars.
He concludes with, “in this universalistic exercise of making people pay without any proportionate reciprocal benefits, the states can only cash in on people's altruistic spirit, empathy and tolerance. Such virtues will be plenty only when the exercise is fair, efficient, transparent and reasonable.
It is gratifying to note the Indian tax department has such distinguished scholars.
Today we bring you a review of the book.