I am a middle-class Indian. It is that time of the year when I pay income tax to the government as a consequence of being employed who fortunately or unfortunately lies in one of the income tax slabs. Sadly, I am a salaried person, who cannot even manipulate my tax amount. 

Sometimes, it feels that had I been unemployed or earned less so that I would not fall under any tax slab, I would not have had grudges about taxes.  Then, I would be availing the facilities, in whatever condition, without paying taxes. 

I work hard to ensure better standards of living. My company rewards me to an extent for my sincere efforts at the end of the year. This obviously makes me feel appreciated, but when I look at my bank statement, I feel cheated. I keep forgetting the equation that increments in salary are directly proportional to increased tax. I am still okay with it, but when I get stuck in waterlogged or broken roads, I wonder where my tax money is going.  The least I deserve is basic civic amenities.

Can there be a provision for taxpayers to choose where their hard-earned money is being spent?  Maybe while filing the tax, I can submit the photos of broken or waterlogged roads or hanging electric wires and request them to spend my money on these trivial things. I would also like to specify that I do not want to spend a single rupee of my tax money on the security of politicians with a criminal background. They don’t need one.

Can this be done? It would be really nice!

Paying rent to a landlord is perfect as one can hold the landlord accountable for anything that is out of order. If the air conditioner is not working, just call the owner and ask him to fix it or it will be deducted from the rent. If the owner turns out to be a person who is a part of the government and chooses not to deal with the problem, one can change the house. In a true sense, one can exercise the right to live. 

But with government, accountability does not exist. 

It would be better if the nomenclature be changed from income tax to protection money. This way expectations from the government will be lowered and then maybe we can make peace with the system.

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