I cannot thank you enough for managing to get former CBDT Chairman Sudhir Chandra to give his views on the issue of retrospective amendments in tax law and giving us both sides of the story. I would like to share my views on two points that he makes. First, that all income made from India must be taxed whether the law says so or not. The implication seems to be that it’s good if this is law, but if it isn’t then we must change the law with backdated effect. I am not really sure what this says about the relevance of the rule of law. Second, that businessmen make huge sums of money and evade taxes with mere paperwork, thus, leaving the middle class to bear the burden. This point may be fair but the underlying tone is that “we are the law” and courts be damned, this view is especially underlined when Chandra says “powerful people pardon”.
Krishnaraj V, Kolkata
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