[Posted December 5, 2009]

Authority to Tax

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Dear Congress: You want the mandate of the people to touch our tax moneys and levy new taxes? A good start would be to fire Bernanke and audit the Fed, then go after Goldman Sachs

Huffington Post Dec 3, 2009 - RYAN GRIM

Bernanke Channels Willie Sutton In Assault On Social Security: 'That's Where The Money Is'

In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee today, where he's seeking re-appointment as the Fed's chairman, Bernanke called for cutbacks in Medicare and Social Security even as unemployment rises and the middle class is endangered.

Bernanke reminded Congress that it has the power to repeal Social Security and Medicare.

"It's only mandatory until Congress says it's not mandatory. And we have no option but to address those costs at some point or else we will have an unsustainable situation," said Bernanke.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) followed Bennett and pointed out that "there's only really two ways you can deflect this deficit, and that's either by cutting expenditures or raising income taxes or other forms of taxes."

Reed asked him if he could think of other ways, but Bernanke returned to entitlement money as the way to balance the budget.

"Willie Sutton robbed banks because that's where the money is, as he put it," Bernanke said. "The money in this case is in entitlements." go to story

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Tax by any other name is still tax

Unfair Taxation A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Only the Vaishya class, the productive class, they had to pay tax. And that tax also was very simple. There was no encroachment. You simply give one fourth of your profit to the government. That's all. No more tax. Sales tax, this tax, income tax, excise tax, this tax—simply tax, tax, tax. No. Not like that. Whatever he has got profit. "Got" means whatever profit he has made... If he has no profit, there is no tax. That was the government system. So how he will pay if he has not made any profit this year? Just like we are hearing there is no good monsoon in India this year. So there will be not very much good production. But if there is no good production, the government should not levy any tax. But now, at the present moment, "You go to hell, but you must pay the tax. And we divide the tax amongst ourself." That's all. Finished. Or we employ the taxes for fighting, for declaring war. That's all. ...So at the present moment we are in a very, very deplorable condition, no good government. Simply by changing, by so-called parties, the government cannot improve. The government can improve when there is Krishna conscious person. more

Give us protection from thieves and rogues

excerpt from Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.14.17, purport

It is the king's duty to see that there is no increase of thieves and rogues either in the government secretariat or in the departments of public affairs. If a king cannot give protection to citizens from thieves and rogues both in the government service and in public affairs, he has no right to exact taxes from them. In other words, the king or the government that taxes can levy taxes from the citizens only if the king or government is able to give protection to the citizens from thieves and rogues.

In the Twelfth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.1.40) there is a description of these thieves and rogues in government service. As stated, prajas te bhakshayishyanti mleccha rajanya-rupinah: "These proud mlecchas [persons who are less than shudras]. representing themselves as kings, will tyrannize their subjects, and their subjects, on the other hand, will cultivate the most vicious practices. Thus practicing evil habits and behaving foolishly, the subjects will be like their rulers." The idea is that in the democratic days of Kali-yuga, the general population will fall down to the standard of shudras. As stated (kalau shudra-sambhavah), practically the whole population of the world will be shudra. A shudra is a fourth-class man who is only fit to work for the three higher social castes. Being fourth-class men, shudras are not very intelligent. Since the population is fallen in these democratic days, they can only elect a person in their category, but a government cannot run very well when it is run by shudras. The second class of men, known as kshatriyas, are especially meant for governing a country under the direction of saintly persons (brahmanas) who are supposed to be very intelligent. In other ages-in Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga and Dvapara-yuga-the general populace was not so degraded, and the head of government was never elected. The king was the supreme executive personality, and if he caught any ministers stealing like thieves and rogues, he would at once have them killed or dismissed from service.

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