An Exercise in Excise
02 Jun 2007 Leave a Comment
in Absurdity, Current Affairs, India, Law, legal issues, Politics, Thoughts Tags: Excise Duty, Excise Laws, India, Taxes
When I speak here, I speak as a layman and not as a member of the legal profession. I find it amusing that a State should tax manufacture. That’s what excise is all about.
I make goods – say shoes for instance. I am expected to shell out a percentage of the costs of making the shoes to the Government! Why should I do that? I already pay a percentage of my profits (income tax); I also pay for the same when sold (sales tax), why should I pay for manufacture?
For a society that wishes to promote the greatest good of the greatest number through increasing availability of goods and services – the State is not really helping to achieve that end. I find it absurd that while one gets income tax deductions etc. to help save profits for productive concerns – how is taxing the activity of manufacture of any use? Yes, it does add to the coffers of the Government– but at what cost?
I understand that it helps make exports more competitive, but why do we have to still have such high rates of excise – 16%. To this absurd philosophy of the State, all I can say is that excise should be phased out and no manufacturing unit should be taxed for being productive. But that is never going to happen.
