Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Fwd: Banking transaction tax is a dangerous idea



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Arvind Kumar


http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-banking-transaction-tax-is-a-dangerous-idea-1959448

Banking transaction tax is a dangerous idea

Wednesday, February 5, 2014 - 09:39 IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA






The idea of taxing every bank transaction has recently gained ground in India as it has been advocated by both political and religious leaders. This idea gained traction in recent years after European Union countries suffering from an economic crisis proposed a global transaction tax with the hope that such taxes from India and China would bail out the European economies. The United Nations has supported the imposition of such taxes.

Statements of support have also been released by the Vatican both under the current Pope and the previous Pope. Now, Indian politicians and religious leaders, without realizing that they are under the influence of global financial institutions, have started talking about imposing a transaction tax on Indian citizens. This concept is detrimental to Indian society as it is intended to drive a stake through the heart of the economic ethos of India which is based on savings and financial stability.

Transaction taxes are closely tied to the concept of a cashless society and both these ideas are usually mentioned in the same breath. In a cashless society, it is proposed that no one will use any money and that everybody’s wealth will be in the control of banks which will work as tax collectors for governments.

American bureaucrat Larry Summers who has served the World Bank and the American government in various capacities recently gave away the real intent behind a cashless society when he stated that a cashless society would prevent people seeking shelter from inflation and negative interest rates.  

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sent from samsung galaxy note, so please excuse brevity

1 comment:

witan said...

There is an article, “Banks or hundi” — by Professor Bharat Jhunjhunwala in The Statesman on the same date (5 Feb 2014), and on the same topic.
Professor Jhunjhunwala attributes the idea of Bank Transaction Tax to Mr Narendra Modi, and is severely critical of it. He argues quite cogently that “Bank Transaction Tax is simply not going to make life easy. Instead it will create a bigger source of corruption.