The Centre is aware of the ‘tax terrorism’ in this country, but it has not done enough to stop taxmen from harassing entrepreneurs and businessmen, says T.V. Mohandas Pai, former CFO of Infosys.
Mr. Pai told The Hindu that tax terrorism was a “very disturbing issue”. “The Union government is aware of the harassment, but it is yet to do something effective to stop it. The government’s delay in taking adequate measures in this regard has given additional powers to the tax authority, and taxmen have gone amok. Taxmen have been terrorising people while making collections. They will even ask people upfront to go for appeal. Is our judicial system any easier… when cases run for 15 to 20 years? It seems taxmen are also under pressure to meet collection targets,” he said.
Expressing disappointment and a lack of faith in the system, Mr. Pai said Parliament and political leaders have failed citizens miserably on the tax front, leaving their liberties under huge risk. “The tax assessment system has broken down. The justice system is also not functioning effectively. As both these key systems have failed miserably, law-abiding citizens and entrepreneurs are left in the lurch,” he said.