Tax terrorism: Embedded in laws & practice

Blaming tax officials will not help us get to the root of the issue. The problem is government itself, in two important ways

In March last year, Ashok Singh (name changed), a former employee of a multinational company, was slapped with a prosecution notice under Section 276CC of the Income-Tax Act for failing to file his income-tax return for 2011-12 (assessment year 2012-13) in time. The possible punishment? If the tax amount is more than Rs 1 lakh, rigorous imprisonment for at least six months and a maximum of seven years, and a fine. Ashok had quit his job to start a consulting company in 2012. In 2011-12 he got his salary for the period of employment (tax was deducted at source and