Why force CSR?

With reference to your editorial, ‘Don’t tinker with CSR’ (December 11), the recommendation to tighten the CSR law and penalise defaulters need to be seen as increasing pressure on corporates to spend 2 per cent of their average three-year net profit for CSR activities.

Should CSR be a voluntary activity? Stipulations on corporates to shoulder social responsibility add to additional outflow on their profits. Many corporates find CSR a burden. Corporates do adhere to social security when they voluntarily improve facilities for their employees but when the government insists, welfare tends to take a back seat. Wouldn’t it be to permit corporates to spend a portion of their CSR for the welfare of their own employees?

Such an initiative will have the twin objective of the funds remaining with the corporates with freedom to use it for their employees while employees’ welfare is improved.

Mathew Abraham

Thiruvananthapuram

Traffic solutions

The more vehicles on the road, the more pollution and gridlocks, making vehicle users fret and fume (‘6,000 more buses to be deployed in Delhi’, December 11). Some ways to deal with this is car-pooling, encouraging the use of battery-driven vehicles, companies allowing staff to work from home, fixing staggered timings help reduce traffic snarls. Designing separate lanes for bicycles may encourage people to cycle. Action should be initiated against vehicles that spew thick smoke. Ensuring the supply of fuel free from adulteration may do a world of good.

HPMurali

Bengaluru

GST is a must

The activities suggested in ‘Be pragmatic and forget GST for now’ by Raghuvir Srinivasan (December 11) should be pursued vigorously, without putting the GST Bill on the backburner. However, they would not give thrust to the economy the way GST would.

Moreover, the problem of lack of investment and ease of doing business has much to do with reformative legislation (including labour laws and land acquisition). The Congress is blocking all these measures to serve its own political interests. Secular parties have made common cause with the Congress as all of them want to dislodge Narendra Modi. Postponing the GST will not change this scenario.

YG Chouksey

Pune

Given the logjam in getting the necessary legislation through, and the lack of clarity on the extent of revenue loss that some States like Tamil Nadu may face as producer States, a phased approach that will have little political resistance should be looked at as an alternative.

States can be allowed to levy service tax up to a limit of, say, 8 per cent and the Centre’s levy restricted to an equivalent amount. The service tax levied by States should be brought into the credit stream of existing VAT levied by States to avoid cascading effect. This will be the same as cenvat that exists at Union level now. This change does need a constitutional amendment but no political party will have any good reason to stop this. Coupled with this, CST on inter-State movement, which is the bane of our present tax system, should be abolished. States should accept this as the levy of service tax will more than offset the loss.

Once this is done almost all that GST seeks to achieve would in effect be in place though the system may sound a little different. In a year or two with full understanding of the revenue implication , GST in its pure sense can be ushered in. The Centre should not usher in GST just in name to be seen as a reformist government; it should do things in a way that the real benefits of the new system is not lost due to political compromises.

SV Kidambi Ranganath

Bengaluru

Who did it?

The verdict in the Salman Khan case shows that justice and judgment are two different things. Whatever turn the case takes the fact remains that the Mumbai police have further tarnished their reputation. If Salman Khan didn’t do it, who did? Surely, someone is guilty? Will the courts clarify who actually drove the car that day?

J Akshay

Bengaluru

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