Legislators, tax and Jaitley's Budget remark

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had given various contradicting statistics and famously said 'ours is a largely non tax-compliant society'.

In an analysis of affidavits of 4,848 MPs and MLAs, around 75% of MPs and MLAs nationwide have claimed that their annual incomes are less than Rs 10 lakh. The findings are based on an analysis by IndiaSpend,a non-profit data journalism organisation.

Out of these 75%, 35% have declared their annual income to be less than Rs 2.5 lakh while 40% have declared annual income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh.

A report published in scroll.in says that out of the 35% who claimed their annual income was less than Rs 2.5 lakh, 1,141 (of 4,848) elected representatives or 24% reported that they were exempt from income tax or have no income at all.

During his budget speech on February 1, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had given various contradicting statistics and famously said 'ours is a largely non tax-compliant society'.

When it comes to assets, they are suppossed to be declared at market price. But, in reality the immovable assets are grossly undervalued.

Such gross discrepencies exist, firstly, because of loopholes in the law,a nd secondly due to lack of honesty on part of the citizens as a whole. As a whole, there is a tendency among citizens to evade taxes. It is this attitude that the finance minister was reffering to in his Budget speech.

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