Idiots and Income Tax
HOW are they related? Perhaps the Government considers every taxpayer an idiot, but do you put them in the Income Tax Act?
Section 160 (1)(iii) of the Income Tax Act reads as: in respect of the income of a minor, lunatic or idiot, the guardian or manager who is entitled to receive or is in receipt of such income on behalf of such minor, lunatic or idiot;.
In the "instructions For Filling" the application form for allotment of PAN, for Column 14 it is mentioned as:
14
Name and address of Representative Assessee
Section 160 of Income Tax Act, 1961 provides that any ‘specified person' (assessee) can be represented through Representative Assessee. Therefore, this column should be filled in by representative assessee only as specified in Section 160 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, such as, an agent of the non-resident, guardian or manager of a minor, lunatic or idiot, Court of Wards, Administrator General, Official Trustee, receiver, manager, trustee of a Trust including Wakf.
Who is a lunatic and who is an idiot? They are not defined.
Lunatic is derived from the word, Lunar. It used to be believed that insane people are affected by the phases of the moon and so were called lunatic. But such words are considered to be rude and offensive nowadays. One who was called mad long ago, was later called mentally handicapped and are perhaps known as mentally challenged.
Those who were once called physically handicapped, were later called physically challenged and are now called differently abled.
The ugly girl of my childhood has blossomed into an aesthetically challenged woman, but the Income Tax Act still call people lunatic and idiots. Anyway, the Law recognises that lunatics and idiots can have income and that income may be taxable. And how does the Income Tax Department distinguish the lunatics and idiots in this Mad Mad World?
Until Monday with more DDT
Have a nice weekend.
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