The government garners a lot of funds from the salaried tax payers. The money collected through these direct taxes gets utilized towards betterment of the society, creation & maintenance of public infrastructure, upliftment of the poor and many other initiatives. Technological advancements has helped large corporates / government agencies make sense of big data and draw conclusive inferences out of the same.
To make the taxpayer feel proud of their contribution, a dissemination of information regarding the government spending carried out of the proceeds of the monies collected through individual’s direct tax payment can be a good idea to make the individuals feel more ownership towards their country and how they’re contributing towards a direct welfare of the society at large.
Nowadays, even the income tax return’s e-assessment are tech enabled and it would be a great news for taxpayers to get to know the usage of the money, through a government Annual Report, wherein the government can share the utilization of the proceeds with the direct tax payers that shares how they’ve helped the country in reduction of fiscal deficit / current account deficit or creation of infrastructure or MNREGA or waiver of farm loans etc.
This would create a feeling of shared ownership and fill their hearts with pride with how they have lead the country forward with their labour and taxes, and they would have more faith over the government as it would showcase that their monies have been judiciously spent by the government functionaries.
School admission, hospital treatment and sports facilities are the new Roti, Kapda & Makaan for the middle income group. The taxpayer who contributes to the nation, in return expects the nation to also contribute to their welfare, especially with health related infrastructure, especially hospitals, parks, sports complexes, health clubs, even good quality air is something that people expect the government to ensure.
Through Fit India Movement and other government initiatives, a taxpayer must be provided with a lifetime membership to enjoy the benefits of such institutions for their contribution towards creation of such infrastructure; Admission of children in schools have various category of reservations, however, none for the ones who are tax contributors.
A taxpayer must be treated with priority in such institutions. Rather, ideally, there should be only 2 categories, taxpayers (including those who report their income, however, doesn’t tantamount to taxation/NIL return) and non-taxpayers. Children of people who are taxpayers, should be eligible to obtain benefits till attaining the age of 25 years. Hospitals / General insurance coverage should be extended to the taxpayers, and they should have an equivalent treatment protocol as that of a VIP. They deserve it.
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