One definition of excise in the dictionary is "to remove by cutting". It sounds painfully similar to what the salaried taxpayer goes through at the end of every month. In fact, there is a case to rename income tax as excise, because it is a tax on the revenue of a salaried individual, and not on his income net of expenses, that is, his savings. It is also worth highlighting that every rupee collected from India's 40 million taxpayers, mostly the salaried class, goes in almost exact measure towards the annual salaries of our industrious central government workers. Unfortunately, these taxpayers are also so perfectly scattered across the country that they have been effectively gerrymandered out of political power. So, perhaps it would make more sense for them to spend a night out - for instance, on new year's eve - drowning their sorrows at a party rather than attempting to form their own party. At the very least, they would escape the next round of additional excise on liquor.
Rohan Soares Mumbai
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