God did not make us poor, taxes do.

The OECD, a group of developed countries, predicts that India will grow at a mere 3.4% this fiscal which is even lower than that of the IMF which sees growth at 3.7%. The report mentions many reasons, including high fiscal deficit, high corporate debt levels and very high inflation. Uncontrolled inflation over the last several years has reduced the purchasing power of the middle class. The Wholesale Price Index rose 7% in October from 6.46% in September while the Consumer Price Index was 10.09% in October from 9.84% in September. When prices of essential commodities rise to untenable levels people cut down on discretionary spending which reduces profits of companies who cut down on new investments, leading to lower employment opportunities. A study by the industry body, Assocham shows that there has been " de-growth " in the capital goods sector and contraction in several other sectors of the economy. Secretary General, DS Rawat said," It would take quite a while before fresh investment can be expected, as even if a positive territory is found, it has to first absorb the surplus capacity with the industry before a demand-driven in investment is expected." The Congress says that inflation is because supplies have been unable to keep up with demand which has shot up because people have become so rich due to its policies. Er, no. Inflation has exploded because of useless social spending by the Congress, purely to win elections, which has resulted in massive fiscal deficits. The Congress thinks that the NREGA scheme was a great help in winning elections in 2009 so it has decided to increase it even further this time round. A committee under Pronab Sen, Chairman of the National Statistical Commission suggested the rural CPI should be taken to calculate any increase in the handouts but has been told to increase it even further. The Congress has set aside Rs 330 billion for the scheme. To prevent a credit downgrade to junk status before the elections the Congress has increased taxes to punitive levels. A World Bank and PWC report says that total corporate tax rate in India is 62.8% and taxes have to be paid under 33 headings. The report puts India at 158th position on taxes. High taxes make everything expensive and unaffordable. That is why India is poor. And will stay poor.