Should we worry about HRA and Medical Bills ???
A colleague approached me and asked me to sign on a paper titled "Rent Receipt". She had prepared the format herself and wanted me to sign on it....she said I was her paying guest owner and wanted me to put some dummy signature. I was wondering why she had to approach me at all in the first place. Well she herself could have done the signature...was she planning some major crime??
Nooooooo it was tax time!!...and we had to submit our saving certificates/medical bills/rent receipts/home loans etc...
She stayed at a PG paying 3000 odd bucks per month. She was claiming HRA (House rent allowance) of more than 3000 INR and so she could approach the house owner for his signature. She is not the only one who is doing this; more than 95% of salaried people do this.
People doing such things are normal people like you and me, not some criminals.
When it comes to paying tax, each one of us gets brilliant ideas to avoid tax. The culprit is not just the tax payee but also the authorities responsible for framing these rules (or should I say LOOP-HOLES) 1250 per month which is 15k per annum of medical allowance. Medical bills worth 15,000 would save you 4k-5k INR.
1) All you need to do is pay a meager sum of 4-10% of the bill amount and you have in hand medical bills
2) Some people save on this 4-10% also by striking a deal with the pharmacy store, that they would purchase 15k worth products(non-medical) from the pharmacy and in exchange they be provided with medical bills. Smart!
These medical bills are for treatments ranging from Diabetes-Arthritis-and what not. The bill is taken in the name of parents to be careful so as to not to run into any problems later on.The bills are professionally prepared; the person prepares monthly bills with ease, taking care of receipt number, doctor's name etc. And you dont need any prescription for this (In the worst case a doctor will come to save you, he is part of the gang!!)
Its a known fact that people fake medical bills to save tax, why cant the authorities remove the requirement of the need to produce medical bills to get tax benefits when the entire IT(Income Tax) department knows what is going on behind the scenes.
Either people should not adopt such smarter ways (which is next to impossible!!) or the authorities should mend the rules. It is not that simple, in the entire process we are introducing corruption. The Pharmacy has to pay 4% tax on the billed amount; on top of that he has to make money so he charges more than 4% which is his margin. Some pharmacy stores go even beyond this by creating fake bills for which he doesnt pay even a pie taxNow the sales tax people also know that this is happening so the pharmacy guy makes a deal with the sales tax professionals also. What about the doctor??? Yes he is also part of it, his role is not so important here unless some strict officer makes a serious check on these bills
We ourselves are involved in introducing corruption, but we do talk a lot when it comes to politicians being corrupt!! Strange :)
Why do we have to stick on to such rules??Next is the HRA (House Rent Allowance) which is taxable if you are not renting a home. I know many friends who create fake rent receipts most of the times faking signatures of house owners, and some even produce rent receipts even staying at their own house that they are paying rent to their parents ! Honestly I also did produce fake medical bills (Only Once!!!) for around 10000INR by paying 4% of the bill amount. If I didn’t do so I would be loosing appx 30% of 10,000INR. To save 3k i just had to spend 400INR. I did choose paying 400 to save 3k!! I filed my tax returns and well nothing happened...no one ever checks these documents i guess!!
But then i thought over it a lot and i had a strange feeling that i was cheating myself by indulging into such activities. I decided that from next year onwards no matter what i would never ever produce medical bills.
People close to me said i was pretending to be too clean a person an ideal person etc....I did not heed to their words ...i am not an ideal person but yes if something is in my hands then i will definitely try not to take the wrong path. Software Engineers are supposedly highly paid professionals and if educated people also do not pay taxes, whom should we expect to pay tax ???
The maximum one can save on medical bills is 30% of 15k, which is 4.5k per annum 400 odd bucks per month. Now think for a moment is it worth producing fake bills for 400 INR per month ???
If your answer is YES, let me try again ....The way I see it is, medical allowance and HRA given in CTC are extra benefits. So if your total CTC is X. I see my CTC as only X minus Medical minus HRA. So now medical and HRA are not my CTC and so i do not bother about saving tax on the additional benefits which i am getting. I urge people not to fake receipts instead if you really want to earn money, prove yourself at workplace and ask for more CTC. Plan your investments, make smart investments there are hell lot of opportunities to make money the right way.
This way you would never need to worry about fake receipts.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Inspired....
I am sure many of you who have known me would be surprised to see my blog!
Well the page was lying dead for a long time now. Recently there was an article in one of the leading news papers in Bangalore "Netting biz: Blogging bug bites big bosses".Big names from Jonathan Schwartz of Sun Microsystems to Kevin Lynch of Adobe to Infosys' Nandan Nilekani were taking out time from their time-challenged schedule to blog. Till today I had the feeling that “blogging” is just a waste of time and nothing else. But this article triggered my thought process.It was on the back of my mind unconsciously I was processing the thought. But the fact that Jonathan Schwartz, Kevin Lynch, Nandan Nilekani were taking out time to blog was not good enough a reason for a lazy person like me to get started with the dead blog lying out there which I had created a few months back.
Today as i was working from home, all of a sudden i decided to start the work on my blog.
I needed a strong reason and I finally was able to convince myself...I could use this as a medium to express myself ..Speak out my mind.
The immediate question on my mind (I am sure most of you would be thinking the same while reading this)was "Will it make a difference??"
Well I am not here to drive out a rally to educate the ignorant people!! :P
But yes it could make a difference to some sensible people if the article triggered their thought process!!!
Well the page was lying dead for a long time now. Recently there was an article in one of the leading news papers in Bangalore "Netting biz: Blogging bug bites big bosses".Big names from Jonathan Schwartz of Sun Microsystems to Kevin Lynch of Adobe to Infosys' Nandan Nilekani were taking out time from their time-challenged schedule to blog. Till today I had the feeling that “blogging” is just a waste of time and nothing else. But this article triggered my thought process.It was on the back of my mind unconsciously I was processing the thought. But the fact that Jonathan Schwartz, Kevin Lynch, Nandan Nilekani were taking out time to blog was not good enough a reason for a lazy person like me to get started with the dead blog lying out there which I had created a few months back.
Today as i was working from home, all of a sudden i decided to start the work on my blog.
I needed a strong reason and I finally was able to convince myself...I could use this as a medium to express myself ..Speak out my mind.
The immediate question on my mind (I am sure most of you would be thinking the same while reading this)was "Will it make a difference??"
Well I am not here to drive out a rally to educate the ignorant people!! :P
But yes it could make a difference to some sensible people if the article triggered their thought process!!!
FYI...
Sex Education !
Sex Education !
Should we or should we not encourage Sex Education
...Quite an interesting topic...hope I do justice for the same.
If you have observed I had intentionally colored the title with different colors for each letter. I am sure most of us see sex as colorful and Only colorful (No offense meant here)
Most of us when it comes to hearing the word sex go mum. Nah...We talk so much about sex with friends isn’t it right? Yes we do. Sex is entertainment to most of us. It’s nice, it’s good, and it’s wonderful.
How many of us have had the opportunity to get educated on SEX in schools/colleges? I guess none.
Is it a sin to have sex??
Is it a crime?
Is it indecent?
Nah...Then when it comes to talking about sex @ home why do people avoid the situation
?? Would you dare to talk to your child about sex? I am sure 9/10 wouldn’t do so?
Most of them even switch channels on seeing an advertisement of a condom. Do you do that when you see an advertisement on crocin?? No we don’t...then why only condom advertisements make us uncomfortable?
The reason being we are hypocrites ...yes we definitely are. In the name of decency, in the name of culture, tradition, Indian Values we are finding excuses not to talk about it. I am not talking about putting hoardings around the city!
No one even wants to see how important sex education is. Millions of people are infected with HIV. We know how serious it is to get infected with HIV. Do we want one of our kids to get infected? I hope the answer is NO !!! Then are you educating your child of the benefits of safe sex !! Unfortunately NO.
I was having a chat with one of my colleagues ...his thoughts were that introducing sex education in schools has a downturn since young minds get connected to the word sex, because they think by talking about it, they might be leading their kids towards sex. Also he pointed out
that there is no right age to talk about it, for one it may be 16 yrs, for others it may be 18 yrs or for some it could be 20 plus.
In one line, people fear that sex education may turn out to sex addiction!!
Agreed, but do we think the same when it comes to alcohol/smoking?
Most teenagers have access to Blue films, Internet Porn, Magazines. We wouldn’t mind our children watching blue films, porn on the net behind our backs but we would not dare to talk about sex with our kids. When there are ways to access information from different sources, there is a need to impart authentic information the right way to kids, don’t you think that makes sense?
If you have have taken PCMB in 12th (Physics, chemistry, Mathematics and biology) you will know that in text books we have contents on reproduction, menstrual cycle, organs etc!! Oops I thought sex education will lead to sex addiction, or may be we are okay with such topics under the subject BIOLOGY rather than sex education, that’s why I said we are hypocrites!!
When it comes to introducing sex education in schools/colleges we talk a lot about it, there are talks in TV channels on advantages/disadvantages.
People argue, TV show concludes with a conclusion on the debate. TV show ends, people leave, people forget.
I am sure there are many people who Suggest sex education in media but wouldn’t dare to implement it at his/her home.
Why wait for TV shows, why wait for the government to introduce Sex education at schools. Do we depend on schools to teach our kids everything that is required in life? Then why do we have to be dependent on Schools only for sex education??
On hearing the word 'SEX EDUCATION' people are faced with the storm that threatens to engulf them, dreaming of turning on their heels and running far away from the familiar surroundings to a place where no one insists
A journey to the aesthetically erotic sculptures of Khajuraho. The temples here date back to 950 A.D and are adorned with sculptures that depict Life in India 1000 years ago-Gods and Goddesses, warriors and musicians, animals and couples in various Kama Sutra like positions. It’s all part of our history traditions or what ever ppl want to term it , but still we are looking for reasons; we are looking at the downsides of sex education.
We should move a step ahead and talk about the contents of sex education rather than stepping back and thinking about the downsides of sex education. I wish someday we change our minds and be more responsible and open in our minds when it comes to sex education.
Additional Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_education
Should we or should we not encourage Sex Education
...Quite an interesting topic...hope I do justice for the same.
If you have observed I had intentionally colored the title with different colors for each letter. I am sure most of us see sex as colorful and Only colorful (No offense meant here)
Most of us when it comes to hearing the word sex go mum. Nah...We talk so much about sex with friends isn’t it right? Yes we do. Sex is entertainment to most of us. It’s nice, it’s good, and it’s wonderful.
How many of us have had the opportunity to get educated on SEX in schools/colleges? I guess none.
Is it a sin to have sex??
Is it a crime?
Is it indecent?
Nah...Then when it comes to talking about sex @ home why do people avoid the situation
?? Would you dare to talk to your child about sex? I am sure 9/10 wouldn’t do so?
Most of them even switch channels on seeing an advertisement of a condom. Do you do that when you see an advertisement on crocin?? No we don’t...then why only condom advertisements make us uncomfortable?
The reason being we are hypocrites ...yes we definitely are. In the name of decency, in the name of culture, tradition, Indian Values we are finding excuses not to talk about it. I am not talking about putting hoardings around the city!
No one even wants to see how important sex education is. Millions of people are infected with HIV. We know how serious it is to get infected with HIV. Do we want one of our kids to get infected? I hope the answer is NO !!! Then are you educating your child of the benefits of safe sex !! Unfortunately NO.
I was having a chat with one of my colleagues ...his thoughts were that introducing sex education in schools has a downturn since young minds get connected to the word sex, because they think by talking about it, they might be leading their kids towards sex. Also he pointed out
that there is no right age to talk about it, for one it may be 16 yrs, for others it may be 18 yrs or for some it could be 20 plus.
In one line, people fear that sex education may turn out to sex addiction!!
Agreed, but do we think the same when it comes to alcohol/smoking?
Most teenagers have access to Blue films, Internet Porn, Magazines. We wouldn’t mind our children watching blue films, porn on the net behind our backs but we would not dare to talk about sex with our kids. When there are ways to access information from different sources, there is a need to impart authentic information the right way to kids, don’t you think that makes sense?
If you have have taken PCMB in 12th (Physics, chemistry, Mathematics and biology) you will know that in text books we have contents on reproduction, menstrual cycle, organs etc!! Oops I thought sex education will lead to sex addiction, or may be we are okay with such topics under the subject BIOLOGY rather than sex education, that’s why I said we are hypocrites!!
When it comes to introducing sex education in schools/colleges we talk a lot about it, there are talks in TV channels on advantages/disadvantages.
People argue, TV show concludes with a conclusion on the debate. TV show ends, people leave, people forget.
I am sure there are many people who Suggest sex education in media but wouldn’t dare to implement it at his/her home.
Why wait for TV shows, why wait for the government to introduce Sex education at schools. Do we depend on schools to teach our kids everything that is required in life? Then why do we have to be dependent on Schools only for sex education??
On hearing the word 'SEX EDUCATION' people are faced with the storm that threatens to engulf them, dreaming of turning on their heels and running far away from the familiar surroundings to a place where no one insists
A journey to the aesthetically erotic sculptures of Khajuraho. The temples here date back to 950 A.D and are adorned with sculptures that depict Life in India 1000 years ago-Gods and Goddesses, warriors and musicians, animals and couples in various Kama Sutra like positions. It’s all part of our history traditions or what ever ppl want to term it , but still we are looking for reasons; we are looking at the downsides of sex education.
We should move a step ahead and talk about the contents of sex education rather than stepping back and thinking about the downsides of sex education. I wish someday we change our minds and be more responsible and open in our minds when it comes to sex education.
Additional Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_education
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