Twiddling with the tax screws
The US’ approach to boost tax compliance may not work
President Biden presented a wish-list economic plan to Congress (i.e., US parliament) that aims to spend $1.8 trillion on education, childcare, and family leave. He also has a $1.9 trillion plan for Covid-relief programmes and a $2.3 trillion plan for improving infrastructure that would cover bridges, roads, broadband infrastructure, and so on.
Taken together, this is a mega-intervention in the economy that if executed would be as significant as Roosevelt’s New Deal in the early 1930s. That’s a big ‘if’.
The president’s ideas are diametrically opposite to what the Republicans believe in and so negotiations and horse-trading have begun. It is perhaps good that the two parties are almost evenly divided in the two houses for they will come to a more broadly acceptable plan.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath (File photo)
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday accused the opposition of practising duplicity over the anti-Covid vaccination, saying those opposing the vaccines earlier are now rushing to get them free of cost.
The chief minister made the remarks while visiting Saifai in Etawah district, the home town of his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav. The chief minister s remarks appeared to be a dig, aimed more at his predecessor.
Amid the dry run of anti-Covid vaccines earlier this year, Yadav had dubbed them BJP vaccine vowing not to be inoculated by them and had attracted huge criticism.