Property Tax Reforms

I would like to share my idea regarding property tax reforms. Through this, we can avoid people paying less tax while buying and selling property and register it for less value. We will examine with a general scenario. Suppose a person declares the price of a property to be of 10 lakhs, when he bought it. He would have paid the tax for that amount in the past. Fine, we can't go back in time to change that. But in the future, suppose he sells the property, we can make that person pay tax, correctly based on appreciation as well as the price at which he bought the property. Now, coming back to the scenario, he sells the property for 60 lakhs. But claims that he has only sold it for 15 lakhs and pays tax only for that amount. Now, we will come to our new policy. Whenever, someone sells a property even to a relative or friend, he should register with the Government property website or licensed private players for auction to the public. There will be auction in the site and if somebody is ready to buy it for 16 lakhs, you are obliged to sell him, as it is higher than 15 lakhs. In this scenario, the person who agreed to pay 60 lakhs will not accept the deal, as he can buy from auction for 17 lakhs, why pay 60 lakhs. You have to sell the property to the maximum bidder and even if you want to sell it your friend or relative, he/she has to win the bid. If you want to help him, pay gift tax or whatever tax applicable and pay him separately. There will be no obligation on anybody's part to buy the property simply because you bid for it. You can bid any number of properties. The auction can be closed only by the seller, when he thinks, he is satisfied by the price. Suppose X bids for 10 lakhs, Y bids for 12 lakhs, Z bids for 13 lakhs. When the seller is satisfied by 13 lakhs, he can ask Z to buy the property. In case, Z withdraws from the bid. Automatically, seller can approach Y, if he also withdraws. The price will become 10 lakhs. In this case, seller may accept X's bid for 10 lakhs or simply wait, as he is not satisfied with the price. So, since anybody can withdraw from the bid at anytime. There is no need for anyone to quote the price only above the maximum. You can register your rate, whether highest or not.

The auction process starts this way. When you register your property with government. Every property will be given a unique ID ( Aadhar of property Owner + ID) like Aadhar + A5 ( All documents of this property will become digital and stored in his Wealth Repository). When this property goes to another person, Property ID will change based on his Aadhar. When you register for selling to any or many of the licensed private players ( License will be hefty to avoid small players who may not attract lot of customers and give sub-standard service), you have to put up auction for a minimum of 30 days. After, you negotiate with the maximum bidder in any of these websites, you go to registrar office with the buyer and give your ID. Registrar will have a government website, which when given the ID, will pull details from all websites for that ID and show the maximum bid. You do the registration and buyer and seller's Wealth repository will be updated with the new ID. Everything will be digital so that registrar can't manipulate prices. This scheme avoids corruption and all malpractices in property registration.

Wealth Repository and Tax Payment

In this post, we will discuss about how we can make all the eligible income earners to pay tax.As a pre-requisite, we need all citizens of india to declare their present wealth. For that, we need a system called Wealth Repository. This Repository will contain all the individuals movable and immovable properties, like House, Land, Car. The price of the House you own will be declared by you. If you declare the price of your home to be 15 lakhs and pay certain tax. It will be kept that way. But if you say in 10 years, you want to sell it to another person for 60 lakhs. We will calculate the tax paid by you 10 years before and will tax the appreciation based on the present price you declare. The lock here is that, You cant bring money into your Wealth repository without paying tax for that amount. This is still a grey area, with lot of loopholes. We need to bring reforms to property tax also, simultaneously. If you have not declared any property ( movable or immovable ) in this repository, simply it does not belong to you. Government will simply take away anything you have not declared.

Next, Income tax. You have to declare your income, which will be recorded in your Wealth repository. It should be less than your expenditure in that year or you have reduced or shifted your wealth form one property to other and clearly declared in your wealth repository. So now, how to track your expenditure. All citizens of India or a particular state you want to start implementing this idea, should have Aadhar Card with electronic chip embedded in it, like a credit/debit card. It will simply hold your Aadhar Number electronically embedded. Every shop in India, which sells products worth more than a single item worth 1000 rupees, should hold a Aadhar Reader. This Aadhar Reader will read the Aadhar Card and will have a finger print reader which can be attached in smart phone and connected to wealth repository through government app. So if a person comes to a shop, he has to produce the Aadhar card and put his finger print. Amount you need to pay can be any mode debit/credit or simply cash. This reader will record your expenditure in your respective wealth repository and produce the bill with your Aadhar number and Expenditure code attached to it. Any bill ever produced in that country without this Aadhar number and Expenditure code is illegal and be punishable under law. If you produce a bill, no matter what is its price, should have this code and number. But, if you don't produce a bill, there is an exemption till 1000 rupees. This is mainly for small payments in petty shops. The disadvantage here is that, you can't return a product or claim for damage. since there is no bill and the shopkeeper can simply shoo them away. From 1000 rupees to 5000 rupees, there is no need to put details of the purchase, only enough to say, 4034 rupees in Saravana Stores, Chromepet. Above 5000 details purchase details should be mentioned. No product without bill ever be considered for Warranty/Guarantee, replacement for damage or in Company owned reapair centers like Samsung Care. All the information about your transactions will be in wealth repository and can be viewed only by the person and the governement. Ofcourse, RTI will get this detail of politicians' wealth repository( only total wealth) to public. In case, you demand privacy (even from your family members), any bill on producing 2% of the amount can be made discreet. That is if you purchase a property for a second wife for 10 lakhs and pay 20,000, it will be made discreet and will be visible only to government. But total wealth will be added.

This gives the 10% of the reforms to be done. Lot of areas like family wealth, Industry wealth and so and so needs further to be discussed.

Smart City Series - Parental Control

In Smart Cities with digital payments through Universal Citizen Identification Smart Card , we can bring about Parental Control for Young Kids. All kids above 3 years should get a Universal Citizen Identification Smart Card. It should be updated every 3 years with a latest photograph. Below age 13, Kids will strictly come under care of parents in dealing with this Smart Card. Between 13 to 18, optional based on Parents wish. Above 18, no restrictions while using this smart card. These Kids Smart cards, can't be used in ATMs or Internet Banking to allocate cash to different wallets. If a kid receives cash either as scholarship or gift, it goes to the general repository and can't be allocated to any kind of wallet by the kid himself. Money in general repository can't be used in any circumstances except emergency medical care only by hospitals. It can be used in ATMs to see balance or to transfer money from your specific wallet to that particular category. The Parental control starts here. Mother ( or Father if he is a widower, or guardian, in case parents are not alive ) of the kid , will have a sub category under her Smart Card, which will enable it to control all her kids Smart Cards. When a mother clicks any of this sub-category, It will open her child's Smart Card Interface, with all the operations an adult will have in his Smart Card Interface. There is no need for parents to possess child's Smart Card to operate it. Things that usually a misguided kid does is steal money, bunk school and go to movies, buy cigarette or liquor, and may even buy drugs. 

First Stealing money. There is no cash in the house, not even in the whole city. Can't steal money. 

Second bunk class and go to movies or to a park or somewhere. In that case, Mother should calculate the transport facilities required for a kid to travel between house and school, like bus or train, in case there is no school bus or auto facilities available for that kid. If She calculates it to be 30 rupees daily. Bank can facilitate daily automatic allocation of 30 rupees in Transport Wallet alone. The money in this wallet can't be used for other purposes. In case, if a child uses school bus, We can make transport wallet zero. In case of emergency, if the child calls the mother, from any ATM or through Internet banking, using mother's Smart Card, Child's Transport Wallet can be filled up. So if a child bunks class, he can't travel in a bus or any mode of transport to go to a good park or some nice place. He will be struck around the school. If there is a Movie Hall nearby, Which can be reached by walk or any kind of Entertainment centers like Video Game station or Theme parks, the Kid can't use it, because there will be no money in Entertainment Wallet of the kid. If Mother of the Kid wishes to put money in Entertainment wallet in Sundays, the kid can use it with her Mother's consent.

Third is liquor and cigarettes. These kind of things comes under Bar Wallet, because I think in Smart City,  Only Bars, which sells premium Brands of alcohol should be given license. You can buy Cigarette, only in Bars. Kid will never have Bar wallet. They can't even enter Bars. Next is drugs, No money, No drugs.

Smart City Series - Bus Transport

In Bus transport , you need to swipe your card, and tell the driver where you would like to go, he chooses the place, and automatically it tells whether it is transport employee, or handicapped person, or you have got season ticket or you are below the age to be considered for half ticket or whatever. It will list the concession details if any, conductor tells the amount. Gives the ticket. Similar to your Metro train travel, You will get balance amount SMS.

Smart City Series - Metro Railways

All Smart City Metro railways should be made cashless. We will now look at one scenario ( Metro Railways ) and see how this smart card makes your travel experience very  comfortable. There will be no cash counters or ticket counters in Metro Rail in Smart Cities. You take this Universal Smart Card and get inside a station. Only when you swipe the card, you will be allowed inside the station. This Universal Citizen Identification Smart Card should be loaded with certain amount of money at any time you enter a station. This amount should me maximum amount required for First class travel from one end to other end of the station. This should be the highest amount present day ticket counters charge for any travel in Metro trains. Say from Beach to Tambaram. First class say 100 rupees. Tambaram to Chengalpattu. Say 80 rupees. Take maximum amount 100 rupees. If there is confusion in this system, Railways can bring about a standard rate like 250 or 100 rupees in all metros, considering all the above rates. So, when you swipe the card to enter a station, it checks whether you have balance in your Universal Citizen Identification Smart Card in Railway transport wallet. It allows you inside the station if you have balance or you can’t enter the station. There are two reasons why you want to enter a station. Either to help passenger to board the train or you travel by yourself. If it is former case you need platform ticket. Before going to tell how your ticket is got, I want to tell that this method avoids terrorist activities in Railways,  because you need this Universal Citizen Identification Smart Card to enter a station. Even if it is stolen from somebody, it will have Picture of the person in the card. Police can easily catch the culprit if it is stolen, because the one who lost the card, can’t do anything without the stolen card, so it will be reported immediately. If it is not stolen, it gives direct evidence of link with the terrorist. Now, how to get a ticket. Simply board the train you want to travel. Every time, when the train is in midway between two stations, it will read the RFID tag. It will record where you have boarded and will check where you got down. Like I want to travel from tambaram to chromepet. When it is midway between tambarm and sanatorium, it will record that you have boarded on tambaram. It then checks in between, sanatorium and chromepet. You are present, it will wait. It then checks in between chromepet and next station, you are not there. Train ticket from Tambaram to chromepet billed from your Metro train wallet. And immediately you will receive a message of your bill. Now I will tell about the huge advantage of this system. You can get up and get down anywhere, without planning in advance. Like you boarded the train from Tambaram in general compartment, you found it crowded. So you get down on next station sanatorium, go to first class. Now the bill is normal between tambaram and sanatorium and first class between sanatorium and chromepet. All using no tickets. Very very flexible. You have bought season ticket or you got pass, or whatever, all will be fed in Metro train transport system. You simply need to board wherever you wish. You stand in platform and you did not board a train before leaving the station, for every hour you spent on platform, platform ticket will be deducted from your account. Also, let’s say, a person got into the railway station, with the smart card and has enough balance in it and before boarding the train, he gives away the smart card to some other person and boards the train. Before exiting the station, he has to swipe the smart card, or you can’t get out of the station. Another scenario, a person (A) enters one station with a card and gives to another person(B) and Person A boards the train and person B leaves the station after billing for platform ticket. When person A reaches his destination , there is another person C, who has 2 Smart cards and gets inside a station and gives person A the extra card, he had and exits with both cards. To avoid this scenario, The exit of a card will only be accepted, if the card entered in any station. Next you boarded the train, it goes from tambaram to beach, your minimum balance is exhausted. And instead of coming out of the station, you stay there and again board a train from beach to tambaram. Now the amount is negative. In that case, you have to pay a fine of 500 rupees, or else you will never be able to board a train again. Because we have your Smart Card number. This way of travel will be negligible as people won’t come from a place and go back to the same place. Another scenario, 5 Persons enter Tambaram Station with the smart card. 4 boards the train without Smart card and gives it to the fifth person. He travels from Tambaram to Beach in bus and enters beach station and gives these 4 persons 4 cards and all three exit from beach. To overcome this scenario, If a person enters station A and leaves at station B, there should be a train ticket link between these two stations or you can't exit. If you board train from Beach to Tambaram and another train from Tambaram to chengalpet, there will be link between travel link between Beach and Chengalpet. In this case, you can exit. Here comes another scenario, Person A and B board a train from Beach to Tambaram. Person B gets down at Guindy and keeps Person A's Smart Card with him. Person A travels to Tambaram without smart card and returns to Guindy and both Person A & B leaves station Guindy. As there is a link for person A&B between Beach and Guindy. The problem with this scenario is you can't get out of station at Tambaram without smart Card. And even if you do it simply for fun boarding trains without smart cards. your platform ticket will keep on increasing. Platform ticket for station at Gindy will be exponentially increase. For first hour, it will be 5 rupees. Second hour 15 rupees. third hour 25 rupees. In this case it is for two person's platform ticket, because he has to be inside the Station and you can't go out carrying other person's Smart Card. You will end up paying more money than your ticket cost. Also, at exit points and entry points, if you carry some other's Smart Card on to the station and swipe with your card, it will be detected using RFID or NFC sensor that you have more than one card and proper explanation should be given to Railway Police in case you do it and all Railway Transactions will examined by Police before letting you go. If found to do malpractice, you will be fined 500 rupees. Every time you swipe the smart card in Railway station, it will send a message to your cell phone telling about your balance in Metro Train wallet. Also you can check it wherever you want in ATMs. 

Smart City Series - Universal Citizen Identification Smart Card

I believe that Cashless economy can be started from Smart Cities. We can make Smart Cities 100% cashless with the introduction of Universal Citizen Identification Smart Card, which when brought with RFID or NFC technology can bring about a huge change. These Smart Cards, which when embedded with RFID or NFC tags, gives the same outcome as swiping Smart Cards. These cards should be made with dual Technology. It can be swiped as well. We will discuss Smart City Transport System( Metro Rail and Bus transport), using universal Citizen Identification Smart Cards.

The loading of funds may be online or at centers which loads cash universally for all the operation that can be performed by the Universal Citizen Identification Smart Card. This one stop loaded money can be then distributed to different wallets like Bus transport wallet, Railway Transport wallet, Recharge wallet or whatever through online mode or when you deposit your money in Specialized centers (Banks, which is  One stop for all cash deposits ) if you are uneducated or don't have digital money ( which is very less in smart cities). These specialized centers are nothing but banks. If you want to deposit cash currency in your smart card, you have to go to banks. ATMs will not deal with cash anymore. It will deal with distribution of money to different types of wallets and transfer of money from one account to other.

What if you lost the Universal Citizen Identification Smart Card. Here too it has great advantage over physical cash. If you lose a 1000 rupees in currency, it is lost forever. But if you lose this smart card, nothing is lost. Immediately call the bank, which deals with your account of Transactions in your Smart Card ( Only Money transactions of a particular card will be dealt by different banks. Cards will be supplied by Central Government.) and block it. What to do if you are in midst of unknown place and lost your card. No problem, here comes the solution. Go to the nearby police station, tell your Smart Card number or Cell number. They will fetch your details. Check your photo and scan your finger prints. If it matches, they will call the bank immediately in case you have not informed them and block the transactions through that particular card. They will dispense a new card immediately with your photo affixed fetched from database. Every police station will have Smart Card dispenser. Every Smart City citizens should update the photograph, every 3 years. Photos can be taken only with high resolution cameras in police station. What if someone duplicates your card. Highly impossible, we will use encryption technology. Even if somehow it happens, you will get message for every transaction done through your card. You can verify it.