Taxing invitations?

The Department of Economic Affairs' annual retreat may have managed to persuade a few celebrities such as Aamir Khan and Shekhar Kapur to attend in the past, but finance ministry officials will tell you that getting Bollywood's A-list actors is not easy. Officials say since the ministry does not pay these celebrities the fee that they would normally demand for such appearances, many celebrities decline citing prior commitments. But what is surprising for the ministry is that even a news anchor has not responded to its invitation this time. The joke doing the rounds is that an invitation from the tax department may possibly persuade some celebrities to change their minds.