Taxes collected from sales of liquor in various states of India, makes up, on an average, around 12% of the state's income. Topping the list is Karnataka, which makes 18% of its income through taxes collected on Alcohol, amounting to Rs. 4,060 Crores. Gujarat, on the other end, makes a paltry Rs. 58 Crores!!Everyone knows alcohol is available in Gujarat, and the estimates of the amount that the Government loses because of Prohibition is Rs. 2,500 crores! Around 50% of the price of a liquor bottle sold is comprised of a combination of taxes - except in Gujarat where the taxes are not paid at all since, technically, no booze is sold. Prohibition is a failed experiment. It is a self defeating system, as other countries around the world have also learnt time and time again.
The reasons are simple - for those who drink alcohol do not consider it to be an immoral act and will continue to drink alcohol and the bootleggers will oblige, no matter how hard the Government tries to enforce prohibition. Many drinkers subject to such acts, "tank" up on liquor when they drink, and prohibition is responsible for creating such an unhealthy attitude towards liquor consumption, whereas everywhere else in the world it is seen as a drink of merriment.
No comments:
Post a Comment