The Hindu Business Line : What service can CAs do to the community?

STORY so far: There can be nothing more taxing than preparing a list of demands for the industry, I learn while compiling one such as a pre-Budget exercise.

Episode 116

Nothing happens even if we present a long wish-list, or does it? Do pre-Budget memoranda serve any purpose? These were the questions I'd left you with in the last episode, but that was a long time ago.

Tax law, perhaps, isn't in my blood, so it took hours and days, weeks and months to assemble a long list of what the industry wanted the FM to do in the forthcoming Budget. I had to be absolutely sure of all the section numbers, right up to their sub-section references, clause and provisos.

When I was studying CA, I used to pester my tax teacher whether it was compulsory to cite the correct Section numbers, only to get the usual answer, "Yes."

He used to add a caution, "Quoting no Section number is better than writing a wrong number!"

Professionals like me, who are employed in industry, end up doing umpteen things other than tax, and therefore are pardonable for not remembering the tax law that keeps continually changing with circulars and notifications. I used to think that practising members should be adept at quoting even the case references, such as 123 ITR 456, even in their sleep. It was disappointing, therefore, when I ran into Pankaj, a friend of mine in practice, and found that he was drawing blank on the many Section numbers that I quizzed him on during our short meeting.

More distressing was what Pankaj confided in me, "Swati, you don't know how the tax system works. It's all about numbers, not of Sections, though!"

*******

A few days before my list was ready, I saw a full-page advertisement from my industry body, pressing for its many demands. The only thread that linked all the demands was that they were associated with the industry.

The focus was so narrow that the industry was obviously oblivious to the wider purpose that tax policy had to serve. I went to the boss and showed him the ad. He said, "We can still send your list, if it is ready. Without expecting, as usual, that the Ministry will take a look at it." I gave him the printout of what I'd done with, neatly classifying the points as vital, essential, and desirable. Pointing out to the ad, I said, "Sir, many of the demands of our industry body are at variance with the broader tax policy!" He said, "Swati, the ad aims to keep the industry members happy." What a sham, I thought!

*******

When I returned to my desk, there was this mail from Ranga, picking up chunks from different news stories: "Sounding upbeat about the Budget 2005-06, India Inc today welcomed its focus on infrastructure and said that it would help sustain the growth momentum. Industry group president welcomed the cuts in corporate tax. Chief mentor of the association emphasised, `There are several positives, it is difficult to find any negative.' His deputy said, `Reforms are on track and we are on a good wicket.' Not to be missed was this quote from the association secretary, `Announcements made are in the right direction in line with the expectations.' During the cocktails, a veteran corporate chief lauded the Budget as `one of the finest'. His wife was overheard as saying, `The Budget takes care of the nitty-gritty of what makes the financial market work.' But the company's accountant was telling the boss, `Sir, exact benefits of corporate tax exemptions would be known only after calculations.'" Rangu adds, in his usual style, "Swati, this was how the industry celebrated last year's Budget, but began wailing their complaints within months." It won't be too different this year, I guess!

*******

Indukanta S. Ragade, a reader, sent letter two days after the Republic Day, and it is about what Plato has written in `The Republic' about honesty. "Plato wrote his work as a dialogue among characters.

The main character was Socrates, who voiced Plato's ideas," explains www.crf-usa.org, a site that I look up to know more about the work. "The dialogue focuses on two questions: What is justice and why should an individual act justly?" One learns that Thrasymachus, a character who teaches politicians, declares that justice is whatever is in the interest of the powerful who rule the state. (Our netas would have been his students?) "Socrates disagrees and argues that justice requires rulers to act in the interest of their subjects like a doctor and his patients. Justice brings harmony to a society rather than conflict, Socrates concludes." According to Socrates, a just society would be composed of three classes. "First are the rulers, the wisest and the best. Next, are the auxiliaries, the police and military who along with the rulers make up the guardians of the state. Finally, the farmers, merchants, and other producers control the economy and provide food, clothing, and other necessities."

Ragade adds with a pick from a different translation of Plato's work: "Today the criminal is the happiest man who takes away by fraud and force, the wealth and property of others, not little by little, but wholesale."

I'm hopeful, however, there will be salvation!

*******

A student reader, Bhanu Parashar sends me a link from Lucknow to an article in Accountingweb.com: "Accounting Students Giving Free Tax Help"(February 13). "Such efforts should be taken by the ICAI as well," writes Bhanu. "This would not only give a sense of responsibility to students but also allow them to expand their knowledge base through direct interaction with public at large."

He explains his plan: "Student volunteers who have either cleared either of their final groups or appearing for Final within 6 months can participate. This can be done with a clause that the Institute takes no responsibility for the correctness of task performed by students and at the same time the Board of Studies may appoint experienced CA volunteers to guide students participating in such an event."

Not a bad idea to give a social orientation to CA students, because that's what is abysmally lacking in qualified professionals.

What can CAs do as service to the community, I wonder? Send in your thoughts by Friday.

Swati_CA@hotmail.com

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