History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c96.s2.88

v7.c96.s2.88

The Welfare State theoretically aims at ( Sarvodaya ) prosperity for all ( at least for the vast majority ). Up to recent times, the main obligations of the State towards its people were the administration of the country, the defence of the country and its coast against aggression or invasion, maintenance of law and order, primary and higher education. The ambition of the framers of the Indian Constitution and our leaders is to create a welfare state, and to reconstruct the present social and economic order on a socialistic pattern by subjecting the country to a planned economy. Several vital industries are now reserved for the State and Government has assumed power to regulate production, to control distribution and to fix even the prices of some commodities absolutely necessary to all men in daily life. It has also established the State Trading Corporation. Taxation has become an ever-increasing instrument of economic policy for carrying out the plan projects. Apart from the income-Tax Act (XI of 1922 recently consolidated by Act 43 of 1961) our democratic Government passed one after another four Acts, viz. the Estate Duty Act (XXXIV of 1953), the Wealth Tax (XXVI of 1957), the Expenditure Tax (XXIX of 1957) and the Gift Tax (XVIII of 1958). There is no other country in the world that has all the above five taxes. Is India the only welfare country in the world? There is a sense of uncertainty and fright in the middle classes and tax dodging in the rich or influential sections of the community. Reasons of space prevent the citing of illustrations of the arbitrary character of the recent four Acts. In all these Acts the opinions of the Govt. officers (viz. Gift Tax officer, expenditure tax officer, and wealth tax officer and higher officers) in an executive ladder under the same Acts on questions of fact (such as the value of a property) are final and cannot be questioned in any court of justice (i. e. in a subordinate judge's court or district judge's court or High Court). If a creditor releases a debtor from his debts (wholly or partly) the creditor will have to pay gift tax on the debt released if the gift tax officer is of opinion that he could have recovered the debt by means of legal steps. No man can make a gift of more than 100 rupees at one time to a private person or even a near relative (except to his wife) and if he makes several gifts to the same person in one year exceeding five hundred rupees he will have to pay gift tax. In all cases of questions of fact one appeal should have been allowed to a district court or where the amount concerned was more than ten thousand rupees to the High Court. It should be recognized by policy-makers that our people have great faith in the integrity of the High Courts and the district judges who are selected by the High Courts and whose promotion does not depend on the Executive. They have not much faith in the fairness and integrity of Appellate Commissioners and Tribunals that are appointed by the Ministers, when the dispute is between private persons and taxing authorities on behalf of Government. Writers on the constitutions of countries have for many years emphasized two leading features viz. the sovereignty of Parliament and the rule of law. Parliaments are cajoled into passing legislation whereby courts of justice are evaded or passed by and the will or caprice of executive officers becomes unfettered and supreme. This is what is called the 'New Despotism' by Lord Chief Justice Hewart of Great Britain.²⁶⁵² In the name of the Welfare State it seems that all power is being centralized in bureaucracy by our leaders.