re: GST cess on midsize sedans, SUVs & luxury cars hiked Quote:
Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao I really think the 'pride of being a contributing citizen' wears off over a period of time when none of the benefits reach the person actually footing the bill for them. As it seems, most of what we pay (sometimes reluctantly) seems to end up enriching a few hundred people in a certain legislative building in Delhi, and their counterparts in various states.
All of us would love it if car-makers reduced prices in public interest, but it's absolutely absurd to expect a for-profit manufacturer to care about welfare ahead of the govt. whose sole purpose is to do what's best for the citizenry (all of us, not some of us). |
So you want all your benefits to be taken care of by the government and you won't bargain with a profit making business? Remember, we are talking about a luxury item here. We stop going into the showroom & the car price will come down. Why not that?
The businessman is making truckloads of money by selling a car. Government is only charging a tax on it. The bad infrastructure is not created this year. It exists since 70 years. This money being taken now may get used for better projects.
The government's purpose is not to bleed taxes while businesses make money. This way no taxes would feel fair at all. Quote:
Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao It's really funny (or it would be, if it wasn't so tragic) that we as a country spent years poking fun at a guy who's actually an economist by profession and responsible for probably the single biggest economic phenomenon in this country, while we're sitting by with an utterly out-of-depth Finance Minister wreaking havoc with constant flip-flops. |
We all know that most of the times the ministers are there to sign. The real design comes from the administrative services. The good old BBC "Yes Minister" taught us well on those facts. The fun if poked is not for economics but for other factors ![Big Grin](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.png) . And I agree that the current fellow really shouldn't hold any portfolio as he was rejected by people in election! Quote:
Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao Taxes are good, more people need to pay them (more the merrier). Absolutely no arguments from me there.
What I'm not comfortable with is the absolutely lack of accountability, incompetence in formulating and implementing policy, and the expectation that those paying the taxes should just consider it a charitable donation that they never expect to see benefits from.
My duty as a tax-paying citizen doesn't end at paying taxes, it also extends to asking what's being done with those taxes and no, asking that question doesn't make me anti-national. This last bit was a generic comment and not intended as a direct response to your post.
/Rant |
Let's not get too political on an auto forum.
I'll reiterate. I'm not happy with the flip flop. But at the same time, I'm not sad that the luxury cars are going to be costlier. The mess is not the costly car. The mess is they didn't use a simple 20rs calculator before GST rollout.
If we are ready to pay 20 Lakhs for keeping a box of steel on the road while the car maker & dealer all make a big margin on that sale - it is not too bad if the government wants a share in it. The rich get taxed - should get taxed. India has a socialist model & this is how it works.
We must also be cognizant of the good things the GST did in the big picture. Just in the auto spectrum as we are on TBHP -
1. The entry level cars & 2 wheelers are now CHEAPER - makes it that little bit easier for the common man to get a car yeah?
2. The costly big cars get a bit costlier - perhaps to compensate for the tax lost in the above category. Many of the people in my part of the world who own these big cars - do NOT pay any income tax & go on to buy a Fortuner or an Audi. So to my income tax bleeding pockets, it seems fair that they at least pay some other tax more than I do.
Overall - its all just old wine in new bottle of course. VAT was supposed to do the same as what GST is advertised to. Didn't work. GST won't make a big difference for long either. Its an infrastructure & mentality that is going to take a long time to correct sadly.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a proponent of any side here. Do visit my post on 1st page of the thread too. I'm just putting various angles of the situation for debate.
Last edited by Reinhard : 31st August 2017 at 19:28.
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