Aam Aadmi and his Tax-o-Nomy

Warning: All incidents in this story are REAL and not a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person’s lifestyle (especially if you are a software engineer) is truly genuine, authentic and certainly not co incidental.

Not so long ago, before I stepped into Professional world, my life was perfectly blissful. But then, I failed to realize this fact. And today, because of my ignorance, I am paying a heavy tax.

It all started with me passing my bachelors with flying colors (?) and getting placed in an MNC. I looked @ the offer and was more than contented. But of course, like any other software engineer, it didn’t last long. By the time I understood that I was paid peanuts, I had already paid a very high “INCOME TAX”.

I got bored of it and thought of doing some business and make good money. I started a venture which did not make its mark. But the losses were huge because of the “COMMERCIAL TAX”.

I ran into losses and decided to sell the left over raw material. I sold it, but I was again at loss because I had to shell out huge “SALES TAX’ to the government.

Dejected, I could not think of business anymore. With some money left, I purchased a beautiful house in one of the posh localities of Bangalore. That too went beyond my budget because of the “PROPERTY TAX”.

In between all these, I fell in love with my neighbor, which meant more tax…!! I couldn’t take her everywhere in bus/auto. So I decided to book a car. When I got it delivered, I was shocked to see that I had to shell out nearly a lakh more. They call it the “ROAD TAX”.

I took her to a movie. But the tickets were exorbitantly priced. When I asked why, they said “ENTERTAINMENT TAX” is very high in Bangalore.

I got frustrated and took her to a nearby restaurant to have dinner. I saw the bill and some amount was additional. The bearer told me that it was “SERVICE TAX”

On her birthday, I promised to present her a gold ring. But the cost was just unbearable. The jeweler clarified that on anything and everything you buy, there will be a “VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT)”

No prize for guesses, my girlfriend ditched me after that. No money, No girlfriend. My age of loneliness took me to a pub. I boozed so heavily that I wanted to forget tax, girlfriend…and everything that happened to me. But all the kick drained out after I saw the bill. The bartender explained to me, the bill was high because of “EXCISE DUTY”

I was so depressed with my life that wanted salvation from all these. I decided to run away to a remote, distant and far off place where no one would recognize me or disturb me. I was not even 30 km away and had reached Hosur, I was out of money to pay for “TOLL ROAD TAX and INTER STATE ENTRY TAX”

And today, with god's grace, I’ve got back my job as software engineer and everything is normal just like how it was before…….

………. except for the two new components added to my pay slip.

“EDUCATION CESS and PROFESSIONAL TAX”