Indian Finance Ministry Proposes Tax Do Pyaaza And Pattaya Tax

'Innovative' first-of-its-kind taxes to be introduced in India

India's Ministry of Finance has proposed 'innovative' tax plans to bolster taxation earnings of the government and improve its fiscal situation, reported our special correspondent Sourajit Aiyer. The government has decided to send these proposals for approval in the upcoming Winter session of the Parliament, and hopes it will not meet opposition. The two innovative tax plans are Tax Do Pyaaza and Pattaya Tax.

When asked the basis for Tax Do Pyaaza, the Finance Minister P Chidambaram said "Onion prices have risen tremendously and is now officially a rich man's commodity in India. Hence, it is plausible to place a 'tax for the wealthy' on onions. People are rarely buying onions beyond 1 kilo at a time, given its sheer unaffordability. Hence, anyone buying 2 kilos or more at a time can be termed as wealthy and will now face an onion tax. Since it is for 2 kilos, the term 'Tax Do Pyaaza'."

When the India Satire correspondent asked FM that people would avoid this tax by simply buying 1 kilo at a time and instead going to the shop multiple times to procure the necessary quantity. The Minister said "The government understands this issue and to counter it, we will create a special concession on income tax payments for the tax payers under a special National Award programme, called Rajiv Gandhi Onion Tax Payers Beneficiary Scheme (RGOTPBS). The awardees will be honoured in an annual award function broadcasted on TV shows of leading channels. This way by pampering egos of rich tax payers as well as providing benefits we will provide them adequate incentives to buy more than 2kgs of onions."

Chidambaram added "There are many ego-hungry rich people in India who aspire to appear on Page 3 tabloids, reality TV shows, film launch parties and thus, get national publicity. Such a national award scheme might just be the right thing they are seeking. There will undoubtedly be some cases of rich people who do not want this publicity, and prefer to remain hidden. While that is unavoidable, the government does hope it might still garner some additional tax receipts."