Shouldn't he be concentrating on serving the nation?

"The data shows that out of a total of 57.8 million individual tax filers, only 14.6 million were liable to pay taxes, while just 460,000 people declared an income of above Rs 10 lakh," wrote Vivek Singh, who is additional private secretary to the finance minister, which means he could be a member of the exclusive club of overpaid, predatory and often corrupt Indian Administrative Service (IAS), which is a continuation of the Indian Civil Service of the British, and perhaps more tyrannical. The other author is Karan Bhasin, who describes himself as an independent economist. Independent from whom is not clear. "Further, only 2,200 professionals, such as chartered accountants, doctors and lawyers, disclosed an income above Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million), which is surprising." Why is that causing heartburn to Singh? Because, "The possibility of a discrepancy is rare for salaried employees, thanks to the easy availability of formal records. It would thus be fair to assume that tax avoidance takes place mostly in the informal sector, and among high-income service providers." So, Singh's grouse is that he is having to pay tax while doctors maybe getting away with undisclosed income. Most highly paid doctors work in private hospitals where they receive salaries, which means their tax is deducted at source, just like Singh's. Very few would earn over Rs 10 million and for that kind of money they work all day and most nights, when Singh would be fast asleep. As for not paying taxes, here is what an ex-IAS officer has to say about his experience during 10 years of service. With his enormous sense of entitlement Singh does not realise that doctors in the private sector in India get nothing for the enormous taxes they pay during their entire working lives -- no pension, no healthcare and no old age care, whereas the perks of an IAS officer would probably make a US official drool. Not only do they get eye-watering pensions, their families continue to receive pensions even if the officer has died after a short service. On top of that, they force themselves into exclusive clubs and if they are denied life membership they use their powers of extortion to crush anyone daring to challenge their untrammelled authority, as Bombay Gymkhana found to its cost. They get healthcare for life under the CGHS scheme, including in private hospitals. And what do doctors get for treating these highly paid pen pushers? They get a lousy Rs 150 for a consultation and Rs 300 for an indoor patient. While doctors have to answer to courts for any perceived mistake, IAS officers are completely unaccountable. An IAS officer would cost in excess of Rs 1 billion during his lifetime. On our taxes.