You can never have too much money, can you?

There is silent war going on in India between the government and the middle class. The rich have accountants to advise them on how to avoid paying taxes and lawyers to file endless appeals to delay any judgement against them. The poor are dependent on subsidies to survive the constantly rising prices. The middle class has no escape. A system, called Tax Deduction at Source, or TDS, collects tax from any income, salary or interest on bank accounts, even before we receive the money. We have to claim refunds when we file our returns at the end of the financial year. If you do not know the complex rules you lose your money. Refund claims worth Rs 1.23 trillion are still lying with the government because the tax department is scrutinising the claims. This after tax fellows have paid out Rs 1.22 trillion already. Why are refunds held up? Because the government sets revenue targets on tax officers in the annual budget which forces them to resort to force, intimidation and sleight of hand to meet the targets. So what do we get for being terrorised to pay excessive taxes? Thousands of people die because of broken the roads every year. Roads are dug up by one government agency, say the water department, to lay pipes, repaired with poor materials and then promptly dug up by another department in an unceasing cycle so that contractors earn a fortune, part of which is shared with the departments which do the digging, as bribes. Money is needed to pay for the shocking rise in salaries and perks of civil servants who have been trained in all the ways to repress people. Some 8,167 people owe over Rs 767 billion to banks. They had borrowed money from friendly bank officials, probably under the impression that this was a gift which need not be repaid. Some bad loans are because of the weakness of the economy after the global crisis in 2008. Steel industry alone owes Rs 3 trillion to banks partly due to a fall in exports and partly due to dumping of steel by China which has produced 30% more than it can use. Because of high taxes and rising prices 47% of Indians are unable save for their retirement. Since we do not get any pension or healthcare for all the taxes we pay old age is a terrifying time of hunger and suffering. It is not surprising that India is one of the worst countries in the world for old people. However, not everyone is suffering. We know that civil servants are doing very well but politicians are doing even better. 34% of state ministers have serious criminal charges against them and 76% are multi-millionaires. Getting elected is financially very fattening it seems. That's the way the money goes and...