The Arbitrary State

Click here read the entire article by T N Ninan For Business Standard

While all this is reason for furrowed brows, there is something more insidious to worry about, which is the return of the arbitrary, predatory state. Jagan Mohan Reddy is likely to sweep the forthcoming by-elections in Andhra Pradesh, trouncing the (panicky?) Congress; so the Central Bureau of Investigation seizes the bank accounts of his newspaper, which sells 1.4 million copies daily, and attaches his properties. In the last few days of March, tax officials who were falling short on their revenue collection targets descended on companies across the country and asked for arbitrary sums to be deposited as tax, failing which their financial officers would be taken in for questioning. Asked how he responded to the threat, a businessman known for his integrity said: “When a mad dog comes to bite you, you don’t bite back because you will get rabies.” In other words, he paid up.